Sonic and the Mystery of Chaos
by Ada Ayre
Summary: When an eighth emerald appears and throws the balance achieved by the other seven Team Sonic find themselves at the centre of a mystery spanning 60 000 years past the Echidna civilisation to a world primordial.
1. Prologue

Prologue

A blue tornado, he tore through GUN HQ, up and up by any means he could. Aware that his old injuries were beginning to make themselves known through all the physical exertion, the lacerations to his legs and his damaged shoulder the main proprietors, he turned to his favoured side of his flight or fight instincts.

He wanted out of the building. He wanted open space where he could run faster than Nyx could fly. This city was lost, Nyx was never going to allow him time to figure out a way to stop the incoming frigate.

Scaffolding clung to the west side of the building, and had been protected from the two MagnoThermal explosions thus far by the sheer mass of GUN HQ. Needing a quick route to the ground, Sonic spindashed through yet another window and landed neatly on the crimson, metal scaffold.

As he did, another ship, this one with two masts but just one row of MagnoThermals, nose-dived directly in-front of him, only barely missing the scaffolding on which he stood. As it passed it completely obscured his view.

The scaffolding was secured to the building like a baby to a mother. It clung some seventeen stories high, encompassed about three and straddled the entire side of GUN HQ.

But it left Sonic stranded. Even if he hopped aboard the falling ship, that left nowhere to run until it hit the ground and possibly combusted.

The wind this high was buffeting and loud.

On the topmost layer of the scaffolding was what must have been a kind of office. Sonic found a radio station and blueprints upon vaulting inside. The walls would only come up to a human's chest, and there was no ceiling. He ducked into a corner, thankful for a break from the heavy gusts, and prayed that Nyx had lost him.

He heard nothing, and inside the half-box could see nothing. He forced his panting breaths into silence, his ears straining for the sound of anything but the wind. But there was nothing. Not game enough to peek over the side, Sonic remained still, frozen in the corner.

Then, a sense he could not explain. A tickle on his brain. He shook his head, confused.

'_He's here.'_

"Maia," Sonic whispered, mouth dry. She was here, and her senses could go where Nyx's could not. He felt a visual description of his hiding place sent from his mind elsewhere. Back through the bond, before it was cut, Sonic felt a bloodlust he was sure did not belong to Maia.

He broke from the radio station. Maia was nowhere in sight. He vaulted out, and with innate balance sprinted across the scaffold. He would have to get back inside the building, and go from –

His thoughts were cut off as something green and long shot from inside the glass he was running towards, aiming for his neck. Sonic threw himself sideways and put a hand in front of his face, and it was that the snake's fangs instead clamped on.

Sonic yelled as fire tore across his hand. His balance disrupted, they fell.

The snake unwrapped from his hand during the fall. Sonic plummeted three stories before slamming quills-first into a grill-floor, a walkway of the scaffold. He had just missed its high, metal hand-rails. It was not meant to support such a crash, however, and one side of it came loose with a jarring fall from stability.

He yelled again as gravity claimed the walkway. Falling straight down, Sonic had less than a second to snatch at the last rung of railing before being flung into empty air, legs dangling. His other hand bleeding and swelling, he had only his injured arm to use. The pressure it put on his weak shoulder was beyond uncomfortable, forcing him to use as much upper body strength he could. The walkway now hung straight down, supported only by whatever attached its remaining end to the rest of the scaffold.

The Black Fleet ship that had narrowly missed the scaffolding finally smashed into the bitumen below.

The ensuing eruption of the exploding MagnoThermals was the greatest yet.

It roared like a wildfire. Searing heat rode vicious blue and white light, biting at Sonic's legs as the hanging walkway swung wildly in the tempest. Below, numerous cars were obliterated. Not a large square like the front of the building, only four thin traffic lanes existed to contain the blast, which of course they did not. Parts of the ship not blown apart crushed surrounding buildings, some chunks as large as buses. Debris from the ship and other things no longer recognizable – the melted or shredded remnants of glass windows and lampposts, tyres, bitumen itself – was blown high into the air, high enough even for Sonic to reach out and touch. Miraculously, he was spared any shrapnel, but below was a pit of volatile blue fire.

The walkway jolted, and Sonic's head snapped up.

Nyx perched a few metres above him. The sharp light of continued explosions made his face look twisted. Nyx stood, wings ensuring his balance on the damaged and unpredictable walkway.

With one sharp movement Nyx flew to the top of the walkway, where it somehow still hung.

Sonic looked around desperately. Nothing to hold on to. Nothing to jump to. His hand throbbed painfully, his eyes were squinted not from the wind but from the intense pain plunging through it like barb wire. He could not use it to pull himself up.

And below the fire and explosions raged on.

With a jolt, Nyx lifted one end of the walkway and let it go. It hung now just from one corner.

Still Sonic thought rapidly. Not giving up. Always a way out.

He had to jump to spindash.

He had to jump.

Nyx lifted the last end. Sonic pulled up his body weight with one hand, planting both feet on the grate.

'_Just a really massive air-board._'

It was hardly that easy. He needed a surface to run on, and when the walkway fell it fell straight down. Heart frozen and reflexes primed higher than they had ever been, Sonic waited out each crucial second out as blackness, the window-panes blurred into a single dark background, behind him screamed past, and the inferno below reached up, waiting, hoping, for a miracle.

The walkway fell, and rotated. Senses primed, reflexes wound like a coiled spring, Sonic saw the end of the walkway swing to meet the horizon.

He immediately spindashed forwards – it required less strength to fight gravity than running.

He reached the end, and just a few storeys before the walkway itself would be consumed, Sonic leapt.

His powerful jump did not shed all the velocity surging him downwards.

A blue comet skimming, arcing, back towards the urban destruction below, he suddenly realised that was it. The walkway slammed and shattered against something burning itself, and in seconds he would too.

He revved his spindash midair. His jump spent, the flames now licked at his quills. They did not protect from heat. He had tried, but he was going in.

'_Then come on'_, he thought furiously, _'take me spinning and screaming.'_


	2. Chapter 1 - A Grand Entrance

5

**Sonic and the Mystery of Chaos**

A Peaceful Day

Grand Entrance

Tails' Workshop

It had been a weary few hours inside the humid cavern, and Tails felt nothing but relief as the thick vault slammed shut with a metallic clang, the glow of the seven emeralds inside vanishing from view. The gears clanked and groaned wearily as they slid the numerous locks into position.

Miles 'Tails' Prower was deep underground, wearing a hard hat and a pleased smile as he double and triple checked the various pieces of equipment on his safe. It had taken him a long time to design, and even longer to set in place when the earth beneath his workshop turned out to be surprisingly difficult, riddled with tough rocks that often took days to drill through. Getting his best friend to cooperate through this stage had been nigh impossible; for a burrowing species he was particularly averse to enclosed spaces. Eventually Tails had simply built himself his own machine to save time and patience. The tunnel he had dug was crumbly, damp, and, where Tails was, small and dark. The safe was not even at the end of the tunnel – in fact you could walk straight past it if one assumed that the tunnel's end would hold the treasure – and that was the mildest of tricks this safe operated.

When he was sure no radar would locate it, no thief could break in, that all defences were impenetrable should a thief manage to anyway, and that the Chaos emeralds were indefinably safe, he turned, gave the spherical safe one more glance over his shoulder, and began to rotate his twin tails for which he had been nick-named.

Tails had been born with his twin tails, and as far as he knew he was the only fox ever to have such an anomaly occur. He rotated them faster so that they whirled like helicopter blades, making rhythmic swishing noises, and then began to rise.

If not for the light on his hard hat, Tails would have suffered many a crash on the winding trek back to the surface. He used his white-gloved hands as much as his tails to scramble up the rocky and foul smelling passage. Sometimes the already thin passageway tightened so much his tails no longer had room to spin.

Tails felt he had grown up a lot in the past few years, becoming more independent and developing more self-initiative. He felt he was no longer afraid of such foolish things as the dark. But, the light-void and damp tunnel made his skin crawl, the claustrophobia a constant threat.

Sweating in the old and musky air, Tails remembered the downwards trip being a great deal easier than this one, and was relieved to see the last bend in sight, unfortunately he also remembered it as a rather ugly one. This particular bend Tails had somehow managed to drill so that from the surface it ran vertical, then on a steep downward slant, before becoming a sheer drop and curving back on itself near enough horizontally, leaving a void of nothingness for at least thirty feet. But, putting on a burst of energy fuelled by the knowledge that he was nearing the surface, Tails made it up and around; forcing his tails to whirl no matter how weary. He could fly, but not forever – his tails were not that efficient.

No matter – there was the surface dead ahead! The bright light streaming into the shaft from his workshop was blinding. Taking off the sweaty hard hat as there was no longer need for it; Tails figured that by just rising he could make it blind.

CLANG!

The exterior of the shaft had a metal support around the circumference that would eventually help in the final stages of sealing – with which Tails' newly exposed head had just connected.

Tails groaned as his skull quaked, ears rung and eyesight flickered. Numbness flooded his body, and his tails ceased rotating.

His yellow and white fur dragged against his skin as he obeyed gravity and began to descend headfirst back into the cavern, stunned, struggling to hold on to consciousness, and unable to stop.

But just before he collided with the crumbly but solid ground that would eventually send him, conveyer belt like, nearly one hundred metres underground, strong gloved hands caught him.

Sonic the Hedgehog locked his jaw in concentration as he struggled to keep his balance and not lose hold of his friend. He dug his red and white sneakers into the loose rock and forced his weight into the ground.

It did not work.

He and Tails tumbled backwards, inertia dragging them along with the plunging rocks. Desperate, he held onto Tails with only one hand, freeing the other. He plunged it into the loose rocks above his head and hastily attempted to find a handhold.

Silence... they had stopped, with less than a foot of crumbly earth to spare. Sonic groaned heavily and leant back, sighing with relief.

Scrambling to his feet before the stones below could loosen once more, Sonic quipped, "Hard hat on, buddy!" and, jammed the hard hat onto his own head. Still holding the semi-conscious Tails, he promptly crouched and leapt upwards, finding a wall and kicking off it onto the opposite. Speed allowing him to laugh in the cheated face of gravity, in this fashion he exited the shaft.

Squinting in the sun, Tails woke up to find he was lying comfortably on cool green grass in a sweet smelling pasture. Scattered trees and rolling hills filled the landscape under the perfectly clear blue sky. It was a fine, sunny morning.

Tails recognised it as Green Hill Zone, north west of Empire City – his home. He sat up, massaging his throbbing head and bright blue eyes blinking rapidly. He looked up and realised he was under a tall and leafy tree, its leaves blowing lazily in the idle breeze. That reaction reflected almost all aspects of Green Hill Zone.

"Sonic," he murmured; a faint smile appearing on his muzzle as he realised what must have occurred.

"Over here, buddy."

Walking languidly towards him was a lean, cobalt-blue teenage hedgehog with quills that sat firmly horizontal on his head and shoulder blades. His red and white sneakers were bright enough to be seen even if the grass was just tall enough to swallow them, the square, golden buckles shining and untarnished.

One remarkable thing about Sonic was his colour and spines, and another was _why _he was like that. Sonic was, as he proudly boasted at every opportunity, the fastest thing alive. The results of running at such insane speeds were evidently a sleek blue hide and a spiky haircut. Tails himself had clocked Sonic doing just over the speed of sound; it wasn't a sight he thought he could ever forget. Sonic was normally sticking his nose in one kind of trouble or another, so it was not all too surprising or all too out of the ordinary for him to jump into a one-hundred metre deep shaft, leaving controls that should not be left lest they shut the three-foot iron alloy seal while someone is inside, to save a friend. Of course if the seal _had_ shut, Tails had no doubt that Sonic would find away to get them out; they had been in far stickier situations.

"Nothing but a little fresh air to clear your head." grinned Sonic.

Tails weakly smiled back, feeling slightly sheepish to have made such a mistake, "Thanks for the catch, Sonic; that was a kinda silly mistake"

"No worries," he chuckled. "Not like I'm a stranger to saving your tails, hey Tails?"

Tails grinned in spite of himself, and took the hand Sonic reached to help him to his feet.

"Anyway, how's the safe going?" Sonic asked.

"Erm... just gotta calibrate the locks from above, run a few tests on the program and ensure all firewalls" –

"Forget I asked, how _long's _it gonna take?"

"Um, another day."

Sonic sighed exasperatedly, then his eyes glanced to Tails to see if he had gotten the message. When Tails kept his face blank, Sonic sagged melodramatically and sighed even more emphatically.

Tails could not keep his face straight at that, "Alright, don't worry, I can finish up here myself, anyway."

"Fantastic! I wanted to take a run to Grass Mountain, a little bee told me there's a United Federation laboratory there that isn't owned by the United Federation anymore..."

"Really?" asked Tails, one eyebrow cocked, "Well, at Sonic Speed that's only an hour away..."

"Of course," Sonic cut in quickly, "I think there's also some... kitten... catcher, about a day's run north of here, between that and the hijacked base that's gonna take me at least 24hrs to" –

"Alright, alright," said Tails, shaking his head, "I should be able to finish up on my own, you've got your wrist-comm so I'll be able to keep in touch. To be honest though I thought you'd be heading to Hill Top Zone… the electrical pulse anomaly?"

It had been all over the news since the morning.

"Ah, just a bunch of sci-fi fruitcakes. If it's real GUN will already have smothered the area, anyway."

"Well maybe I'll check in with Knuckles to make sure it's nothing… Chaosey."

The impatience in his eyes was evident, but Sonic beamed, saying: "Knew I could count on you, Tails! See you in a day!"

And he was off, the pasture was a blue and green blur on either side as he accelerated to an eye-watering speed in one stride; he threw his blue arms out behind him, and rejoiced with the feeling of being faster than the wind.

Tails watched in delight as the streak of blue that was his best friend traversed over the pastures as fast as a plane could fly.

Then he jumped lightly into the air, his tails rotating superbly, and headed off in the opposite direction.


	3. Chapter 2 - Nickel

11

A Peaceful Day

Nickel

Saturday 5:45am

The sweet pasture became a blur in his peripherals, but the road ahead had never been clearer. His feet flew over the unfenced paddocks, crossing an hours worth of countryside in a matter of minutes. His perfectly sleek body easily cut a path through the air, his hands balled into fists and splayed out behind him, fighter-jet-like, to maintain balance. As he approached a steep hill he sped up, building the power in his legs, leapt, crouched, and flew into the air, silhouetted against the light dawn sky and curling his body into a ball that span so fast it blurred into a elongated cobalt sphere.

As he reached the height of his jump he unfurled, and fell, feet first through the fresh morning air.

Sonic broke his fall by... well, he didn't. After he had taken a good look of his surroundings he curled back into a ball and, 'WHAM!' slammed into the ground, bouncing and spinning as fast as he could, so fast that for a moment, he didn't go anywhere, merely cutting into the ground as tufts of grass and soil flew out behind him. Then, like a racecar relieved of its clutch he sped off. He knew he was _supposed_ to be solving the mystery at hand... but he could never resist a jog over Green Hill Zone. So he skidded; skidded and jumped and leapt and rolled and ran through the rocky meadows and over the fantastically rickety pinewood bridges, up the magnificent palm trees and onto wherever he could land.

He yelled in exhilaration, as he neared his trademark supersonic speed, the adrenaline in his system increasing and pumping all the faster.

He was so close, he could almost feel the surge of energy and speed as he hit the barrier, hear the resonating BOOM that disappeared and feel the shroud of silence as raced along the thrill of the speed of sound.

However, by then he had reached the base of Grass Mountain. The ridge separated Green Hill zone from the next zone to the west. Here the famous undulating hills slowly faded into grainy rocks and gritty sand of the border-lining mountain. Sonic slowed – too fast was sometimes too dangerous, but he still would have been moving ten times the speed of the world's fastest sprinter. Pine trees sprung up higher on the craggy hill, but at Sonic's level there was only flat, thin grass, the ghost-like remnant of the fading Green Hill Zone.

Having already done his homework beforehand, Sonic knew where the base was built, and thirty seconds' speedy jog found him some barbed wire fencing surrounding a concrete compound built sneakily into the side of Grass Mountain.

Situated among broken, jagged boulders and cragged rock formations that jutted out of the grey gravel earth, the one-storey compound was built deep into the mountain, as if whatever rock that had once been there had been scooped out and replaced.

Just before the sides of the mountains concaved to where the compound was situated, Sonic scooted quickly into cover, diving behind a boulder. The barbed wire fencing was built quite tight to the base, leaving a large empty space of gravel earth between it and Sonic.

"Okay Chaotix, why am I here?" muttered Sonic to himself, peering around the side of the boulder to take a look at the compound – and it did seem a bit odd. There were two watchtowers doubling as mounted searchlights, one built atop the compound and another on the steep mountainside, jutting over the treeline. They and the barbed wire gave Sonic the sense that whoever owned this place had something to hide. You would expect that for a place with this much security there would be some active patrols – and that's what caught Sonic's eye the most.

The compound appeared totally deserted.

And it was utterly silent. Not so much as a far-off hum of running generators or motor vehicles to colour the quiet.

Sonic was just about to creep forwards for a better view, encouraged by the apparent desertion of the complex, when a loud explosion from above caused him to jump in surprise and duck back against the boulder.

Barely a second had passed before Sonic had to laugh at his own paranoia.

"You've been shot at one too many times, hedgehog," he said to himself, looking curiously up at the sky – he had been so interested in the compound he had not noticed the sudden change in weather. Storm clouds had gathered, storm clouds where just a few minutes ago, nothing had been but the rose-pink of first light. He stared at the rapidly darkening sky, the clouds blackening, blotting out the bright morning sun. The explosion he had heard had instead been the drum of the sky, thunder, now rolling overhead as blue lightning flashed from within the thick clouds.

But, he thought with a frown, it would have had to been _very _sudden, he was sure the sun had been shining no more than fifteen minutes ago – and indeed, the dark clouds just cut off after what Sonic estimated as a few kilometres. He could actually _see _blue sky in the distance surrounding the concentrated patch of storm clouds.

Storm clouds that just happened to be converging on the compound.

"Coincidental weather anomaly or somebody mucking with something they shouldn't be..." Sonic murmured, looking from the thick black clouds that writhed with the speed at which they grew.

Sonic darted out and into the open, impossible to miss – if this base was occupied, he wasn't going to play hide-and-seek with them. Deciding he might as well rocket in with all guns blazing, he turned up the speed and curled into a spindash ten metres before the barbed wire fence. Stupidly, there was no concrete under the fence. Spinning rapidly, he dove into the ground and burrowed a shallow dip under the fence – however, the gravel was not as soft as soil and it did not all quite work the way he expected, his fantastic blaze of glory instead ending with half of him stuck under the fence, with no amount of wriggling gaining him ground in either direction.

"Oh, fantastic," he said sarcastically, almost totally pinned down by the wire – if it was this painful with protective quills he did not want to know how badly the mesh would be digging in without them, "and _now _you guys show yourselves!"

Long, rectangular panels built into the gravel earth that were impossible to see until they began to slide back, and rows upon rows of large metallic cubes rose to the surface from within. About two dozen of these cubes from four different panels were arranged in diagonal strips, and then began to sprout limbs.

Sonic could only watch as silver, lanky and armed robots transformed out of the cubes. He had seen before – Robotnik's latest generation of Badnik after the top-heavy monsters modelled previously.

"Robotnik robots... my favourite, hey, can you lend a hedgehog a hand?"

He received the response he was expecting – thankfully also accompanied by the burst of adrenaline required to tear himself free from under the fence just as all of the two dozen robots lowered their weapons to aim in his direction.

The ground behind him exploded in bursts of sound and dust, but he was already moving too fast for the robots, and had toppled four of them in the time it took for the rest to realise he was no longer stuck under the fence.

The sky thundered loudly again, shaking his bones, and Sonic almost stopped to gaze in awe at what was now occurring above. The clouds were hanging low, and blue electricity pulsed almost constantly at the epicentre – which happened to be almost directly above him.

Only intrigued at the unexplained events unfolding around him, Sonic had no problem sprinting straight into the compound and barrelling into the chest of the robot that had kindly stepped through the front door to let him in.

It took him but one scan of the inside of the building for him to get his bearings. No robots inside, in fact the place did not look as if it had seen use in a long time. An inch of dust covered the floor and in the cobwebs abounded in the corners. Apart from the odd crate or desk, the rooms Sonic could see connecting to the unit he had sped into appeared totally empty – though there was one standout feature within the compound.

The recently and roughly drilled tunnel punched into its rear leading into the Grass Mountain, lit weakly by hanging globes.

Though not thrilled with the thought of yet more tunnels, Sonic's discovery of a Robtnik base in the heart of United Federation territory overwhelmed him with jubilance.

A particularly loud thunderclap overhead, so heavy it rattled the ceiling, reminded Sonic why he was here, and without further complaint or opposition he sped into the tunnel.

He sped up, and soon enough the tunnel straightened out, and at its end Sonic could pick out a light blue glow.

Then he burst into a clearing. The compound simply cut off at the base of a deep pit. Strange metal rods formed a sort of diamond shape in the middle, but otherwise it was claimed by nature. Above, the stormy sky was visible. He could only gawp, and wait, it was as if the storm was building up to something; the clouds swirled around a now visible eye. Blue lightning flashed like static inside it, faster and faster and brighter and brighter.

Sonic gave a low whistle at the sight.

The clearing, rocky and plain, was not large but was filled with tall robots identical to the ones he had just escaped from.

But before Sonic could joyously dismantle them, the sky flashed and boomed with sudden and violent blazes of blue lightning. He shielded his eyes from the bright flashes, and could not help shivering from the sudden ice cold gusts of wind that lashed out like whips. It was suddenly not unlike being on the deck of a ship at high seas.

One great, powerful and utterly silent blast of cyan light in the form of a lightning bolt struck the centre of the clearing.

Then the thunder came.

Sonic clutched his ears and dove back inside the tunnel in an attempt to escape the tsunami of decibel strength, all of Grass Mountain quaking with the almighty roar.

But then it was gone. As quickly as it had come, the thunder receded, leaving only two or three meek aftershocks of noise in its wake.

Recollecting his wits, Sonic rolled back to his feet, hugged his back to the wall and peered back inside the clearing. There was more awe than shock in his voice when he said, "Mauro's saggy left… what was _that_?"

He again noticed the robots in the clearing. It was clear that they were deactivated, about a dozen of them lying crumpled and spitting static. Sonic had no doubt that they were of Robotnik origin, but the mad doctor himself as nowhere in sight.

Not that he gave the clearing much more than a glancing scan. It was the newcomer in the centre that caught his eye.

There was no crater or discolouring on the ground this newcomer knelt on, it was as if he had appeared out of nowhere. Of course, Sonic only had to look up to see that the storm that had been generated by… whatever had just happened, still had to run its course.

Thunder rolled overhead, causing the newcomer, a white, small and young hedgehog to flinch and cower. His quills were shorter by age (Sonic thought he looked roughly ten years old) and his boots and gloves like nothing Sonic had ever seen, but this hedgehog was still not unlike Sonic himself.

And due to that Sonic felt obligated to help the little fellow out of whatever mess Robotnik had hauled him into – for only Robotnik could have come up with something as elaborate and enigmatic as this.

Stepping confidently over the downed robots, Sonic approached the hedgehog. "Hey, I" –

Sonic never got a chance to finish. As fast as the strike of a snake the young hedgehog had whipped around, one palm outstretched towards him. They never even made contact, but somehow Sonic was flung back, his feet taken right out from under him so that he fell as if pushed back by a smothering, icy cold hand hard into the robot he had just stepped over.

"Oh no! I'm sorry, I'm sorry! A-are you okay? – I didn't mean to… o-oh w-what is… where?..."

Sonic sat up with a groan, and stared with a mixture of awe and trepidation as the young hedgehog made his way towards him, stuttering apologies, before breaking off and turning on the spot, eyes wide and mouth hanging open. Sonic had no idea how he had managed to throw him off his feet without even so much as touching him, but had an idea that it was something to do with the hedgehog's strange gloves, and maybe even his boots. Like his fur their primary colour was a stainless white, but they appeared to pulsate with some alien energy, manifested in circuit-board like lines which met at a wide circle on the back of the palm and ankle of the boot respectively.

"O-oh my… oh no… Nyx – no, brother – oh no! What if…. Where!?" –

Desperation crept into the young hedgehog's voice, and Sonic decided to step in.

"Mobius," he said, causing the hedgehog to twirl around to face him. His wide amber eyes told him that the hedgehog found Sonic as strange as Sonic found him. "Planet Mobius… Green Hill Zone?"

The hedgehog just stared at him.

"Yeah I get that reaction a lot, don't worry I won't take it personally – but!"

The young hedgehog gave a start as Sonic sped towards him in a blink of an eye, taking him by the wrist and pulling him towards the tunnel.

"I know about as much as you do as to how the heck you got here, but I _do _know that we have to vamoose before our walking toaster friends wake up."

The young hedgehog looked at the downed robots.

"Did I do that?"

"Won't stop Robotnik blaming me anyway," shrugged Sonic, "But we really gotta go."

"Wait – whoa!"

Sonic took off, all but dragging the younger hedgehog behind him, his smaller legs working double-time to keep up. Sonic sped them out of the tunnel, out of the base, now as silent as a grave – even the robots outside had been fried – and back into Green Hill Zone. Above, dark storm clouds rumbled and rolled, and flecks of light rain rode on the strong wind.

"Wait – just, _slow down_, please! I don't know where I am – I… oh no… I don't even know how I got here!"

Sonic pulled up, catching the hedgehog as he flew forwards. They were already a safe few hundred metres from the base.

"First thing's first," said Sonic, putting the young hedgehog on his feet and holding him steady as he swayed, "What's your name?"

"What's yours!?" challenged the young hedgehog, snatching his arms back from where Sonic held them and summoning bravado into his failing voice.

"Sonic – Sonic the Hedgehog," said Sonic instantly and rather too proudly, "and you?"

"Um…" the hedgehog was clearly taken aback by Sonic's ego, "Nickel… Nickel the Hedgehog… I-I mean, I think… why can't I…" Nickel looked up at Sonic, a hundred questions flying behind his topaz eyes. Finally he seemed to come to some sort of conclusion, but possibly out of panic because he suddenly spilled out, "Please – you have to help me! Somebody's after me but I don't know who they are or what they want…. at least – I don't think so… why can't I remember, I swear I knew it all just a minute ago!"

Arms crossed, Sonic said, "You're kiddin… amnesia _again_…"

"Huh?"

"Okay, easy," said Sonic, putting a hand on Nickel's shoulder comfortingly, "Don't worry, this sorta things happens to me more than you'd expect, you're in good hands. We're gonna head in _this _direction," Sonic pointed to where he knew Tails' workshop lay in the distance, "and while we walk, you just try and tell me what you remember."

Sonic set off at a brisk walk – not even looking back to see if Nickel was following. Nickel just stood where Sonic had left him for a second, dumbfounded, then jogged to catch up.

"I think this has something to do with it?" he said, still jogging slightly to keep up – but he nearly overshot Sonic when the cobalt blue hedgehog stopped suddenly.

Sonic blinked, looking down at what Nickel held in his hand.

It was a Chaos emerald, except not only was that impossible, but it looked like no other Chaos emerald Sonic had ever seen, and he could boast to have seen them all. While its cut and size was exactly the same, it was imbued with every colour of the rainbow. Its vibrant pigments swam and glowed inside, shining coolly out of the sharp and perfect faces of the stone.

"Nickel…" said Sonic, taking the emerald and holding it up for better inspection. Strangely, as soon as the emerald left Nickel's hand its colours dulled considerably, as if a light inside it had gone out.

"What do you think?" said Nickel, worriedly, in the sort of tone one asks a doctor about a concerning lump.

"If this is what I think it is I think you just became a very wanted man," said Sonic, still looking at the emerald at every angle.

Nickel gave a little peep of fright, making Sonic smile in amusement.

"Relax, I'm not gonna let anything happen."

There was a promise and warmth in his eyes that visibly calmed Nickel. "What is it?"

Sonic replied, "Some sorta Chaos emerald, but not one I've ever seen."

"Chaos emerald?" asked Nickel, clearly with no idea what Sonic was talking about.

"It's gotta be an emerald," said Sonic, "nothin's this big – it's like some sort of… Rainbow emerald."

Sonic resumed walking.

"Hey, what was that stuff you hit me with, back at the base?" said Sonic, "Does that jog your memory?"

Nickel stared dumbly at his hands.

"Psychokinesis," he said, slowly, "I've always had it…" he looked up at Sonic, "Don't you use Kinetics?"

"Ah… no, is that normal where you come from?"

Nickel started to answer, then cringed. "But this is crazy where _do _I come from?" wailed Nickel, clutching his head, "I don't understand."

He stopped.

"I want to go back to the place we just left," he said, forcing an adamant tone into his voice.

"You know what, I think you're right Nickel," said Sonic, then he waved the Rainbow Emerald under his nose, "I think _this _does have something to do with whatever's happened to you, and you really don't want it falling into the hands of Eggman, the guy I'm 100% sure is behind this in one way or another."

"Egg- what were _you _doing at that place anyway!?" shot Nickel. His moods swung like a pendulum – not that Sonic expected them not to. The kid was panicked. In response to his question, Sonic shrugged.

"I got a tip-off that the base wasn't quite what it seemed. I was investigating when you showed up.

Nickel now looked awed.

"Are you some kind of spy?"

Sonic chuckled, "Nah…" he silently debated for a moment, "more like a superhero."

Nickel clearly didn't know whether he was being made fun of or not.

"Alright, let's get you and your psychokinesis and your crazy emerald back to Robotnik and ask the doc himself what the heck's goin' on. Should be simple, I broke in ten minutes ago!"

He spun on his heel, making quite a show of it, and briskly set off in the opposite direction once more. After a few paces he realised Nickel was not following.

"Well, are you coming?" he said, loving the disbelief on Nickel's face. "Here." He tossed the emerald back to Nickel, who caught it after a few fumbles, "Hold onto it, it's gotta mean something to you."

A few seconds later, Sonic had rushed the two of them back to the base. There was no sneaking around – instead they just marched straight in. The place was like a ghost town, no sign of robots this time, and for that matter or any sign of life. Now that Sonic noticed though, the hills surrounding the base looked slightly odd. There was a strange impression in the way the treeline ran, and if he looked hard enough even a discolouration of the trees – maybe that was to be expected if their roots ran near anything Robotnik. Whenever he became involved, the environment was the first to go.

Still, it was harder to see. Due to the dark storm clouds there was less light than when he had arrived.

"I say we head in to where you first appeared," said Sonic, leading the way in and through the small building, heading for the tunnel entrance, "we can gather clues from there."

"It's so weird," murmured Nickel, massaging his head, "It's like I know I should know something, but when I go to look for it it's not there…" he groaned loudly, "but I _know _it's important!"

"Just take it easy," said Sonic, "I know you've known me for all of ten minutes, but trust me on this, I get into these sort of situations a lot."

"Who exactly are you, and what sort of name is 'Sonic'?" said Nickel, a little ostentatiously.

"'Sonic's' a cool name," said Sonic, smoothly.

They reached the clearing in which Nickel had appeared. Ominously, the robots had disappeared. There was no sign at all that something out of the ordinary had occurred. Now that Sonic could survey it calmly, he noticed another exit directly opposite their entrance

"Okay, so, here's where I found you, what do you remember before that?"

"Nothing," said Nickel, blankly, "Absolutely nothing."

Sonic had to suppress a groan, "This amnesia stuff is so cheap…"

"What?"

"Nothin', c'mon, let's go deeper inside this place and draw Eggman outta his hole."

Nickel followed close on Sonic's heels as he lead them further in, across the clearing and through the next tunnel. This one was darker, and as they marched further in and further down a definite smell of oil and petrol slowly grew stronger.

"Who's 'Eggman'?" asked Nickel, unconsciously whispering. Sonic made no such attempts at stealth – if Robotnik wanted to attack he would have done it already. All it took was looking out for a trap.

"Would-be dictator, I kicked him off his throne years ago. Well I had help…" Sonic trailed off for a second with a strange look in his eye that somehow did not, Nickel though, quite suit him, then he continued as if nothing had stopped him, "Now that he hasn't got the resources or the patience to wage a proper war, he's holdin' on as tight to the places he still does out-right control and taking get-power-quick trips every weekend. In an eggshell, he's not a nice guy."

Eventually they reached another room, this one completely enclosed… and metal. Sonic gave a low whistle at the sight of the place and the familiar design.

"What is this?" said Nickel, startled at the sudden change in environment. Purple metal plates bordered the entire room, the corners rounded to give a futuristic look. Doors that looked as if they opened via motion sensor lead even further in to whatever underground base this was – the room they were in now had to be some kind of antechamber.

"This is definitely Robotnik," said Sonic, scanning the room briefly.

Then, the entire place shuddered. A great, deep vibration that seemed far too big even for the area they had so far traversed.

"And he knows we're here," said Sonic, quietly, then a little chirpily, "Nickel, wave hello!"

Sonic nodded in the direction of a far corner at ceiling level. At first Nickel had no idea what he was talking about, but then he could just distinguish a tiny black dot – a lens.

"How did you even see that?" said Nickel in disbelief.

The entire place shuddered again but this time the shaking did not cease, instead it only increased in intensity. At first slowly, and then rapidly, soon joined by a steadily growing roar; the sound of an engine.

"I think we should get going!" shouted Nickel, fighting to maintain balance, "This was a bad idea!"

"But wasn't this what you wanted?" cried back Sonic. He did not look as alarmed as Nickel, indeed, it was quite the opposite; he looked as if he were having the time of his life.

The entire room shook as if by an intense earthquake, the noise now burning to the ears. Frustrated and scared, Nickel uttered a cry of fright, then did the most extraordinary thing.

A gaseous cyan glow flew over his fur, completely coating him, before raising him _into the air._

Surprised enough to forget he was supposed to be looking like he had it all under control, Sonic cried, "You can fly!?"

Nickel had to lip-read more than listen, such was the tooth-rattling noise around them, "Not as well as my brother," Nickel gasped suddenly, then said very quickly, "Sonic! I had a brother! Whoa!?" –

The entire world seemed to jerk and rip itself from its bearings. Sonic fell flat on his back and, laughing, held on for dear life as a strong but invisible force pushed down on him. Nickel seemed immune to it, but not to the shifting of the room. His place at the centre soon became the floor, and he collided with it heavily. The impact shocked him from his psychokinetic coat and rendered him semi-conscious. Sonic snatched a hold of his wrist to keep the younger hedgehog anchored.

'_It's gravity,' _he realised, _'We're not being pushed down, the floor's just going up – we're rising!'_


	4. Chapter 3 - Riding a Metal Tempest

10

A Peaceful Day

Riding a Metal Tempest

6:00am

After what seemed like an age, the shaking and the roaring began to lower in volume and intensity, leaving Sonic's bones feeling like jelly and a high-pitched ringing in his ears, but unharmed. The downwards force became bearable, and he relaxed his tensed muscles to the considerable gratitude of the rest of his body. He did not know if Nickel was injured or simply too frightened to move, he did not shift when Sonic lifted his head, though he stared off into space as if hypnotised, his mouth frozen in a petrified 'o'.

"Alrighty then," said Sonic, springing to his feet. As carefully as he could, he dragged Nickel into a corner – if Robotnik was watching he was certainly in sight, but it seemed like the right thing to do.

"Now, I'll be right back. Don't go anywhere now."

Sonic made sure Nickel was sitting comfortably, he was still staring blankly into the distance as if he hardly dared to tremble, before disappearing in a streak of blue, running recklessly back up the tunnel. He nearly flew right into oblivion, such was his speed, but a tickle of instinct told him to slam on the brakes just before he tumbled right off the prow of what he realised was an enormous aircraft. Sonic judged from the continuous heavy rumbling that they were somewhere near the engines, but judge he could not the entire size of the ship. He went to his knees to keep his balance as he peered out over the edge, a familiar and natural smile of excitement lighting his lips. Smooth purple metal bulged downwards below – like all aircraft of this size, the engines would be on the base. He could see nothing of the ground below, just grey cloud cover all around them. The moisture uncomfortably dampened the exposed sections of Sonic's fur, and though he knew it was pointless he put a glove to his face as if to dry it. Looking side to side as well and taking in the blocky frame instead of a pointed prow, Sonic presumed they were at the back somewhere.

So why was there a circular mole-tunnel of earth leading in? He had spent more time on Robotnik cruisers than he cared to remember and had seen nothing like this. Sonic curiously brushed the edge of the tunnel where the dirt met metal, and was intrigued to see the soil was just a covering, and that more metal prevailed below.

It all came to him in one electrifying jerk of realisation.

"Cripes – Nickel! We gotta go!"

Even as he turned, the rumbling all around him intensified, and a dark orange glow bloomed to life at the back of the tunnel. Sonic skidded into the chamber where he had left Nickel, now standing and gaping vacantly at the flames.

"Sonic, what's" –

"One rule running with me, man, when I say run you _definitely_ run!"

Sonic grabbed him by the wrist once more and hauled him, babbling his protest in fright and confusion, back up to the outside. Nickel must have realised, just as Sonic had, what was outside the entrance, because he tried futilely to pull back, even throwing up the strange and alien shimmering cyan coat that was his 'psychokinesis', but nothing short of a steel wall would stop the speeding hedgehog.

A boom behind him sounded like a resonant drum. Holding Nickel firm behind him, Sonic spun them around the outer edge of the tunnel entrance and the handhold he very much hoped existed just outside it. Luckily, one did in the way of a ledge large enough to stand both of them shoulder to shoulder… but at first there seemed very little need of it.

Panting heavily as the seconds ticked by and nothing happened, leaving them tensed and hugging the wet, purple metal anticlimactically as the wind howled around them threateningly. Anger overriding fright and confusion, Nickel suddenly snarled at Sonic and snapped, "What!?" –

WHOOOMPH!

An incredibly hot and loud tongue of flame flew from the mouth of the tunnel, causing the parts of the aircraft behind them to shudder dangerously. It was over in seconds, leaving Nickel still screaming and Sonic still laughing. Parts of his quills has been singed.

"Whoaa – that was cool, d'you see that – wow! Wow… I am so glad we weren't in there for that."

Shaking, Nickel heaved and stuttered out something nearly incomprehensible.

"Why – did – he –have – a – camera…"  
"Inside there? Cos he's a sicko; it's Robotnik. He probably did that on purpose. Let's head back in."

"No!" cried Nickel, grabbing his arm.

"Well how else are we going to get inside this thing?"

"Why would you want to get inside it!?"

Sonic looked at Nickel as if he were half-witted.

Nickel goggled back, eventually making Sonic grin. "This is an Egg-Carrier, not many of these types still around, most are all beta-class, but I know one when I see one. Robotnik's on this just lookin' for an escort to a UF federal prison."

"Whoa whoa – what?" asked Nickel desperately, "Egg-Carrier? Why would you need something this big to carry _eggs_!?"

Sonic paused for a good moment, then burst out with raucous laughter. When he didn't stop, Nickel guessed he was being made fun of, and adopted a cross expression, almost offended enough to forget to be scared.

"What!?"

Sonic forced himself to regain control, "Oh, man," he snorted with laughter and almost lapsed double again before forcing himself to be halfway serious, – "you'll catch up. C'mon, let's ferret around, see what looks important and break it – I say we start with that exhaust-flamethrower-thing."

"No – wait," said Nickel, grabbing his arm again. This time Sonic turned back looking annoyed and impatient, and Nickel said hurriedly, "I can fly us up, just don't go back in there."

Not waiting for Sonic's consent, Nickel did just that. Throwing a layer of psychokinesis over himself that caused his quills to raise themselves, he pointed a palm at Sonic and immediately the psychokinesis extended. It was not like a bubble, instead it clung to his fur weightlessly, though it felt cold as steel as it coated him, and potentially just as strong. Then, to Sonic's considerably shock and delight, Nickel drew them both into the air.

"You're kidding!?" cried Sonic, looking like Christmas had come early.

"Haven't you ever seen this before?" asked Nickel, looking mildly astounded, "Well, I guess not many people can do it these days, but everybody's seen the Merrimen Principle Tapes."

"I'm not everybody," called back Sonic, a little nervous but mostly just intrigued. He noticed that Nickel's psychokinesis extended from him to the Carrier, and his hold to it remained relative as they ascended. It was not a bubble in the air. As they rose, they passed what appeared to be a more conventional entrance – for Sonic, anyway; a continuous pane of glass that entrapped a storeys-worth of the Egg-Carrier's rear.

"Just here, Nickel," said Sonic, "No point making ourselves sitting ducks on the top-deck. Let me go a second."

Nickel looked down at Sonic worriedly, but Sonic just gave him a confident smile, green eyes bright and earnest. Absolutely unsure, Nickel released his hold.

The cyan glow vanished, and for a split second Sonic fell uncontrollably. Then, he curled himself into a tight, spiked ball and hurled himself straight at the glass. How he did so was beyond Nickel – he seemed to kick off thin air itself. The glass shattered weakly under his impact, tearing a good-sized hole more than large enough to allow Nickel passage, too. Sonic scanned the room quickly, and deciding everything was safe-ish waited until he heard Nickel's boots squeak on the steel floor before engaging in a more thorough check. It was definitely Robotnik. Egg-Carriers were the top class of warships he had produced, they were the largest and designed so that the mad Doctor or any of his lieutenants could raze the world beneath them with almost unlimited power in unparalleled leisure. They were, by far, larger than anything GUN could produce.

"Is this a… dining room?" asked Nickel. His assumption, as absurd as it sounded, was correct. Sharp-cut tables and egg-like chairs were dotted on an elevated platform, a step above them. Where they stood was assumedly an area for entertainment – dancing or comedy or any other pleasing act that would never take part here, at least not by willing participants. Sonic remembered places like this with chilling clarity.

"I don't get this at all," said Nickel, and Sonic had to give him credit for his confusion.

"Like I said, you'll catch up. Just stick close to me, I'll get us out here."

"You just got us in here…"

"Exactly! See, you're already catching on."

Knowing he left Nickel bewildered and exasperated, but slightly less frightened, Sonic moved forwards into the Egg-Carrier.

But he had barely taken two steps when the lights went out. With two large BANGS, sounding even louder in the dark, two metal shutters slammed down over the punctured glass window, severing the remaining light that had flooding the room.

"Sonic…" said Nickel, moving closer to him.

"Easy on, Eggman's just sending us a welcome party," said Sonic, without a trickle less confidence.

They waited, alone, and in the dark for what felt an age. In reality Sonic estimated only five minutes passed, but they had heightened the rest of their senses so much their perception of time had bloated. He could almost feel the anxiety radiating off Nickel, and wished there was a way to ease him a little bit. However, he was almost certain something was lurking in the impenetrable darkness.

He was right.

"Sonic the Hedgehog."

"Present," said Sonic, whipping around to where he thought the robotic-crackling voice had sounded, "To whom am I speaking to?"

"Asserting final directive. Primary directive modified. Engaging."

"That's a mouthful," Sonic muttered, but the very ghost of a thought poked the back of his mind. "Well, I assert that Robotnik's going straight to Mortalamo, so we'll be"-

The voice sounded again, but though it was still unmistakably robotic this time it carried emotion – of a sneering and self-assured kind.

"Where are you going Sonic? Don't leave just yet we, haven't even re-acquainted ourselves."

"No-no, that's fine, you go ahead with directive-primary modification and whatnot," continued Sonic, already ushering Nickel towards where he remembered the steel shutters to be, then he paused. "Re-acquainted?"

"Re-acquaintance not yet validated. Enquiry requires response."

Sonic heard a low thrumming behind him, like the booting up of a machine, and whipped around.

Sonic felt shock riddle through him, but did not let it show on his face as an old enemy suddenly came into sight, lit up from the light of its own glowing energy.

Blue, metallic, with sharp angular features, striped with black and with eyes that glowed like a furnace, Metal Sonic revealed itself via the light of the crimson lines running the length of its arms, spines, legs back and chest. Black sections of metal complemented the blue, and the robot did not bother hiding much of the weaponry and equipment it was fitted with. Even with a casual glance, Sonic spied a mounted turret flattened to its right forearm, doors in its shoulders for the rushed exit of something rocket-propelled, and cherry-red metallic balls on the insides of its calves. Perhaps the most outstanding of all was a property that had remained with Metal Sonic since its very first model – the presence of the flat, red eyes. Except this time they were completely circular, absorbing the pupil to further reduce Metal's resemblance to anything remotely human.

In a deep and droning voice Metal Sonic spoke, but this time all the emotion, however sick, that had been in his voice had vanished.

"_What _is that?" squeaked Nickel.

"Another one?" Sonic goggled.

"Respond."

"What, me respond?" asked Sonic, stalling for time to process all of this, "You're the one that just said" –

"You did promise a rematch, did you not?" said Metal, parts of its body visibly clicking a turning away – the constant movement was unnerving.

Sonic examined the machine in front of him – this wasn't right. This simply couldn't be _the_ Metal Sonic...

"You're not him." Sonic said quietly.

The emotion was still void from Metal's voice as it said, "Error 6. Validation or explanation necessary."

"Mauro – he loves making you schizo these days. _The _Metal is currently taped up to dozens of machines in the bowels of GUN HQ, probably being taken apart like a metallic lab rat. A friend of mine, in fact one of the Docs old robots gone AWOL confirmed it to me itself, you're just a copy!"

Sonic was exaggerating about the 'friend' part, but it was close enough.

"Assertion negated. Searching archive. Search found. Target's words: 'If you ever want a rematch, let me know, I will be waiting'. My master has re-dispatched me to engage that challenge."

"Then Eggman's given you all of Metal's memories… or whatever recording robots have. You think you've battled me before but"-

- "Scanning."

Sonic sighed in heavy exasperation. Reasoning with a robot was about as efficient as reasoning with a shoelace.

"Integral programming indicates proof of previous clashes. Final directive dictates necessary action. Final directive dictates the destruction of the biological Sonic the Hedgehog."

Out of impatience, Sonic cried, "Well bring it on already I haven't got all day!"

And the glowing lines of red over Metals body were extinguished.

Now Sonic couldn't see anything.  
"Nickel, can you put that psycho-thing up as a shield?" Sonic asked quickly.

"Wha" -

For the second time that day, Sonic was caught off guard, but this time the consequences were substantially more painful. Metal had a huge advantage; while Sonic could barely see his hands in front of him, Metal did not require light to see.

"Sonic!" screamed Nickel as Sonic yelled in pain, flying back and into the dark as something invisible charged into him with the strength of a bull. The charge itself would not have fazed Sonic, but the electrical current that spasmed into his body turned the world a scalding white.

'_Shake it off,' _Sonic told himself, forcing himself out of semi-unconsciousness. Ring-energy would not be drowned that easily. He jumped to his feet, ready for more. And more he received. Another whack, this time squarely to the face, and another round of painful electricity.

"Die!" The other voice.

"I'm not the copycat here!" retorted Sonic, rolling blindly to the side. He was rewarded with the sound of something heavy and powerful smashing into the floor, splintering the wood and metal hybrid deck. Sonic took the miss to his advantage, and ran again for where he was though the shutters had been.

"Nickel, lift the shutters!" cried Sonic, hoping dearly the young hedgehog was not frozen like a rabbit. His hopes were well spent, and within the second the shutters took on a cyan glow. Nickel lit up as if by cyan-burning gasoline.

But the shutters did not lift.

"Sonic – I can't get them up, I don't know the mechanism" –

That was all Sonic heard. For the third time, Metal collided with him, clamping both arms around them as they flew backwards – and into the shutters themselves. They punched a hole clean through the flimsy metal and the glass behind, the impact enough to loose Sonic from its grip. No floor caught them – they just tumbled into nothing but freezing air and rain. Sonic struggled, then finally kicked free.

Sonic fell through the stormy sky, the void grey and thick with visibility-obscuring clouds. Instantly he was soaked to the bone. He spread his arms and legs like a star for balance, and looked frantically for Nickel. The kid at least had a way off the Egg-Carrier and via his psychokinesis safe passage back to the ground (or so he hoped), but Sonic had no such attributes and his shock-absorbing Sonic Spin would never be enough at this height. He could not see anything, just the walls of grey as he fell through the clouds, soaked through to the bone in seconds and the wind howling in his ears. Above it, however, came a roar similar to that of a jet engine.

Sonic altered his body so he was falling in the position of a diver, using his reduced surface area to cut through the air faster. The roaring steadily grew louder, until the air around him seemed to vibrate with it, and it equalled the howl of the wind surging past his ears. The clouds thinned until he could see green country and wide roads beneath.

Sonic looked out of his peripherals and sure enough, Metal was rocketing towards him– two engines on his back and stabilisers on his hands and feet allowing him to fly.

Sonic curled into a ball and began to spin furiously – if Metal wanted him he was going to get a mouthful of blue spine beforehand.

No good.

His spines were useless against Metal's diamond-hard surface. With one hit his foe stopped his spin, and with another kick pulled him out of it, leaving him vulnerable.

Metal suddenly gripped Sonic in a crushing bear hug, and began to descend to the ground at full speed.

Sonic struggled, trying to break Metals grip, only to have his body course with electricity once more. He went limp, the world gone dark.

But he could not move.

He was not getting out.

He thought he heard his name called when Metal finally released him to fall with a savage speed to the rapidly growing hills of Green Hill Zone.

A thud and a childish yell and two arms, warm and thin, encircled around his body, a terribly strong pull in the other direction, then a bone-shattering impact, the taste and smell of soil and grass, the feel of mud smeared over his fur… and of another body beside his.

The rain continued to fall, lightly but steadily.

Sonic opened his eyes blearily; body aching but mind switching on instantly. He glanced up; Metal was nowhere in sight, but he was not naïve enough to think that it had left.

What had happened? All he clearly remembered was being shocked by Metal...

Sonic felt his stomach back-flip as he looked to his right.

Nickel. The young boy was laying unconscious, spines up, his Rainbow emerald held loosely in his hand. Even as Sonic watched it, its vibrancy slowly pulsated into lacklustre.

Having a pretty good idea of how this had happened, Sonic felt a wave of guilt sweep over him almost as strong as the warm strength come to replenish what he had lost – courtesy of the massive pool of Ring energy he had spent years accumulating. The rise in strength and endurance did not make him invulnerable however, and as Sonic pushed himself to his feet he winced to ignore the ache of flesh bruised to the bone. He took a moment to shake the mud and soil off himself.

And he could not ignore the landing of Metal Sonic ten feet away. The red lines running the length of its body dimmed as the energy required for flight receded, though the red in its eyes did nothing of the sort.

"Nice, nice, beating up children – about all you were ever good at anyway…"

Metal's voice switched again. He laughed sickly, and jeered, "The blame rests on your pathetic name and you know it. A name I will now take – I am the true Sonic the Hedgehog!"

"If it's so pathetic then why d'you want it?" said Sonic, but that was the best he could muster. The robot's left arm pointed at Sonic, and suddenly reconfigured into a fierce looking cannon.

Sonics tensed – ready to dodge, he knew his movements would be slowed from fatigue, and he knew that there was no way Metal could miss for too long at this range, but he was going to try anyway.

Metal fired three times.

And the shells, each the length of a finger, stopped millimetres in front of Sonic's eyes, held by a wispy blue light.

Sonics' face lit up as he spun around to see Nickel standing there, staggering and struggling to remain awake – even the rain appeared to be battering him. But he was there! And it appeared Nickel's impossible power – psychokinesis – had saved them both yet again.

"Boy am I glad you're on my side!" said Sonic, giving Nickel a thumbs up. "Now why don't you show Metal what its like to have a dose of your own medicine?"

Slowly, the bullets began to turn; now they pointed directly at their master.

"Error 15. Illogical." droned Metal. Even Sonic and Nickel could hear the alarms that were alerting Metal to the obvious danger. He must have heeded them, because in seconds Metal had turned and fled, no doubt not wanting to chance 'primary directive'. Without wasting a moment Nickel fired the bullets after him, all to miss but Sonic thought it a nice touch all the same.

"Knew there was a reason I let you tag along," grinned Sonic to Nickel, but his smile vanished as Nickel sank to the ground, throwing his hands out to stop his fall.

"Hey!" Sonic quickly rushed over, "You okay?"

Nickel didn't answer, his breathing came in short shallow gasps and he was soaked from the rain; frozen to the bone. One hand rested on the Rainbow emerald.

"C'mon, I'll get you outa here." Sonic lifted Nickel up, carrying him with one hand under his legs and the other under his back.

Quickly accelerating, Sonic tore off to the south east.

He had never felt so glad to see Tails' workshop.

'_Almost there'_, he kept telling himself. The last half hour had been intense, even for him. Anybody else would have been shaking with shock and adrenaline, but not only had he extensive experience but his ring energy to absorb it all, leaving him under control. Robotnik was on UF soil, Metal Sonic was back and more insane than ever, and Robotnik had been either awaiting or summoning this kid with the power to move things without touching them.

He didn't quite nail the skid-to-a-halt entrance he was aiming for, and when he reached Tails' door he accidentally slammed right into it.

The first thing he noticed was Tails, jaw wide open in shock as he stood in the middle of his workshop, gaping at the sight of Sonic and his new acquaintance so beaten and tired.

The second was that blearing sirens were audible from the blackened north sky.

Robotnik had resumed the offensive.


	5. Chapter 4 - The Luck of the Hedgehog's

11

A Peaceful Day

The Luck of the Hedgehogs

Saturday 6:30am

"Sonic! What happened?" asked Tails, completely bewildered. He rushed to the door, shielding his face with his arms and tails from flying paperwork and an aggressive wind. The two-tailed fox peeked over his friend's shoulder as he pulled him inside and closed the door. Instantly the flying paperwork slapping them became still once more. "What are the sirens? It's not…"

Tails cocked his head, and Sonic winked.

"Eggman?"

"How'd ya guess?"

"What's he doing here!? Sonic, my equipment is telling me there's an _Egg Carrier _out there!"

Sonic deposited Nickel on a nearby armchair, placing the Rainbow Emerald in his lap. Curiously, it was not shimmering as wonderfully as it had been before, as if it, like Nickel, was unconscious; now it seemed dull, void of any of its prior lustre.

"Yep." he confirmed. Bad news was best broken quickly, he had found.

"Where'd it come from!?"

"It was planted underground" –

"It came out of the _ground_? Well that explains the quake."  
"Right. Eggman's after this kid, I think. I went to that base the Chaotix told me about and _he _pretty much dropped like a lightning bolt right on top of me. Robo-butt had it basically built into the mountain though; didn't know it was an Egg Carrier. Oh yeah, and there's an eighth Chaos emerald."

Stunned, Tails just gaped as Sonic revealed the emerald.

Mouth flapping open and closed as he gasped for words, Sonic supplemented with, "I know, right?"

"B-but it can't be!?" Tails snatched the emerald and inspected it. He held it aloft to the light, he measured it, even rushed it to scale to check its weight.

"I know, right? Knuckles is gonna freak. Oh, also the Carrier pretty much took off out of the mountain and guess who was waiting inside?"

Tails wasn't as shocked as Sonic had expected he might be at the reappearance of Metal Sonic, but he could see the young fox's brain working quickly and efficiently. Despite the ludicrous nature of the story, not helped with Sonic's wild exaggerations and stroking of his own ego as he recounted his rescue of Nickel from fifty robots, one of them controlled by Robotnik himself and armed to the teeth, and the eventual face-off with his metal doppelganger. This, too, had its actions extrapolated almost beyond recognition; featuring Sonic continuously pushing himself to his feet despite the punishment he was being handed to protect an unconscious Nickel. Tails didn't ask where the bruises inflicted by this punishment had mysteriously disappeared.

"Metal eventually got the jump on me, had he played fair I could have beat him of course" –

"Of course," mused Tails, humouring him.

- "but a long story short, Nickel got injured and I brought him back here."

Tails bowed his head, cool logic at work now his initial alarm had subsided. His twin tails twitched and slowly rotated as he thought hard. Outside, the sirens had dissipated – would the UF military and GUN know Robotnik was here yet?

"I think we need to get out of here. This workshop's not a fortress, and I don't want Robotnik getting any closer to you know what. But Robotnik's in massive trouble for this, why'd he risk the stalemate for an emerald and a young boy? I-I know it's potentially an eighth emerald, but this is…"

"Tri-Alliance expires soon," shrugged Sonic, "everyone's getting the fidgets. Still, if we catch Robotnik we can pretty legitimately put him away for, what, a billion lifetimes?"

"He should have taken the ship halfway to the moon by now, he may be tough but the U.F would blast it out the sky," – Sonic stopped himself snorting in doubt at this. Robotnik was on United Federation soil, but he was no more afraid of them than he was of his high cholesterol, - "but if he's gone this far then he's not stopping now, he'll go after us again in something small and light. So, where do we go?"

"Why not just go south?" supplied Sonic.

"Why go there?"

Sonic simply shrugged, "we haven't been south in a while."

Tails laughed: "Okay south it is, we'll be heading towards Knuckles anyway. I'll get the _Tornado_ ready!"

Tails flew to his backdoor, disappearing from view as he entered the small, cluttered hangar on the other side. No sooner had Tails left than Nickel began to stir, and as he did the emerald in his lap regained some of its former lustre.

"Ugh, my head," he looked around blearily, then started, jerking upright.

"Easy on," smiled Sonic, catching him by the shoulder, "We're safe here for the moment – you ever flown in a plane?"

Nickel just stared, the abrupt and seemingly non-relevant question throwing him.

"You just missed Tails, my little brother – well, adopted little brother, it's a story and a half, maybe I'll tell you sometime?"

"W-what happened to that robot-thing?" asked Nickel, "Where's that airship?"

Sonic shrugged, "Coming."

"Coming!? Then shouldn't we be moving?"

"We are – Tails is preparing the _Tornado."_

"The" –

Tails suddenly bustled into the room, arms full of thick, baggy, orange cables – "She hasn't gone out in awhile as I've been fixing some upgrades to the flaps to improve agility – which reminds me the lower left node is gonna need extra boot-time," he dumped the cables near an array of computer monitors, kneeling on an office seat and flicking the computers to life, "Setting to the porthole need to be synchronised – how much time do we think we've got?"

"Five minutes?" hazarded Sonic.

"We'll make it two – oh, hi, Nickel, right? I'm Tails." Tails smiled at Nickel, then quickly spun his chair back around and flew his hands across the keyboards. He paused once to jab his thumb in the direction of the door, "What did you do to get the Eggman's attention?"

"I can't remember," said Nickel, honestly.

"Amnesia _again_?" scoffed Tails, "I'm beginning to think, Sonic, that you just go around beating stranger's heads about with a hammer."

"No, but I know somebody who does."

Nickel got to his feet, then abruptly doubled over as if to be sick. Sonic backed off warily, thinking the shock of the last hour was taking its toll on the boy, but he quickly proven wrong.

Nickel gasped, falling to his knees as the Rainbow Emerald flew from him in a quick flash of light, then went stonily still as the emerald began to shake, rocked by some invisible force. It span, faster and faster, its colours streaming into the light of the workshop. An unnatural wind picked up, ruffling loose paperwork and working on Sonic's fur like a chilly hair-dryer. The emerald became a blur of colours, and Sonic could only watch as the vibrations shaking it passed to Nickel, causing him to twitch and jerk as if rocked by a seizure.

Then the sirens began.

A large red exclamation mark burst to life on one of Tails' monitors, then another on a separate monitor. The machinery upstairs began to wail. Before Sonic knew it half the workshop seemed to be in uproar.

"Tails!"

But he had barely made the call when Tails came charging in.

"What happened?" he said, freezing where he stood when he caught sight of Nickel. His eyes passed the Rainbow emerald, "What did you _do_?"

"Me?"  
"I leave for five minutes and you cause _another _disas"-

Sonic spoke over him, huffing that he'd been blamed for this, "I'll work on Nickel, can you get these machines to shut up for a second?"

Sonic went down on one knee next to Nickel, knowing better than to touch, and lowered his head almost to the floor to try and get a glimpse of the hedgehog's face. He seemed frozen still, eyes glued to some nondescript patch of tacky carpet.

"Well that's just what I came up here for," said Tails hurriedly, rushing to the monitors, "These are the warning signals for the emeralds when they reach dangerous levels of Chaos energy – they're reacting to something" Tails pointed to the furiously spinning Rainbow emerald, "_that _would be my _GUEESS!" – _his last word stretched out indefinitely as it mixed with a scream of shock. A mighty blast on invisible power had erupted from the Rainbow emerald, knocking Sonic onto his back and leaving Tails gripping the desk of the monitor's for dear life. The force did not relent, and like a hurricane it seemed intent on levelling the whole workshop.

"Now what's happening!?" Sonic cried, slowly being blown back away from Nickel despite holding himself almost flat to the floor, "C'mon, Tails you're the expert!"

"ME?" yelled Tails, "What's there to be expert of!? The Rainbow emerald's caused the Chaos emeralds to spark some kind of reaction – agh! My equipment!"

Only the computers held in brackets or in built to the walls stood any chance against the violent winds, the rest were sent crashing to the ground. And even of the computers that were not immediately destroyed, their signals were disrupted and distorted, their screens frenetically flashing between waves of static.

Seven emeralds one hundred metres below their feet were very angry.

Tails threw himself to a nearby dashboard. Immediately the monitor above it displayed numerous statistics. "Perhaps Nickel's having an effect on the emerald, too!"

Parts of the ceiling began to crumble. Tails surveyed with relative composure the statistics on the monitor. "The seven emeralds stay in synch because of, like a web of… harmony – think of it like an electromagnetic field! Except more like a… Chaosmagnetic field - nobody's come up with a term yet" –

"Whatever! The eighth emerald's done what to it?"

"There's _massive _amounts of power, you know how much, that's held in balance by this shared field. With an eighth emerald it's having a runaway effect! _Sonic we need to stop it_!"

The dashboard and monitor exploded in a brightly lit bang and flurry of sparks. Tails sprawled back, twisting himself in mid-air so he landed on his stomach, flat to the ground and now opposite Sonic by Nickel's other side.

Sonic shouted, "Nickel snap out of it!"

And he did. Sonic saw the boy's eyes flick his way – he was aware.

Sonic quipped, "That was easy, for a change. Didn't really expect that to work…" The wind lessened.

Snatching at the chance Sonic jumped forward and yanked the emerald out of the air.

He was half-expecting a lance of Chaos energy to spear him. Touching a Chaos emerald under the control of somebody who meant you harm was far from a brave move; it was stupid.

Nickel immediately snapped from the seizure and the magnetic-like push that had been upsetting the inside of the workshop disappeared entirely, but Tails' equipment continued to fail.

Sonic held the shaking emerald with a silent awe, wondering what could possibly happen next.

"Sonic – we have trouble!"

"Oh, good... normality."

"Eggman's here! He would have easily picked up the energy signal from the emeralds. So much for my encoding program to disguise my equipment's signals..."

"Not a worry, lil' buddy," said Sonic, "We can outrun him."

"We're talking about an _Egg Carrier_, Sonic! Now Eggman knows we have the emeralds it's going to come after us – we need to get in the air!"

"You do, I'm going underground!"

Tails was about to argue at the preposterous statement, then realised what exactly that meant. Sonic had already sped further into the workshop, Rainbow emerald in hand.

Tails thought it was a miracle the _Tornado_ could still operate. He sat at the controls, quickly running a check of the plane's entire system. The _Tornado_ was a red antique biplane (with some modifications) capable of seating three: a driver, a passenger and a gunner. It had originally belonged to Sonic, but as Sonic virtually never had use for it, Tails (to the fox's joy) had taken over maintenance.

From the outside nothing whatsoever could give it away as the highly efficient dogfighter it was. Instead, it seemed merely an antique biplane that should probably have belonged to an aviation museum. But, looking closer, even on the outside there were subtle differences – one green node sat in the middle of each of the airplanes four wings and parts of an unusual yellow engine poked out from its underbelly. There were yellow tips on the propeller and wings. And if one were to sit inside the cockpit one would be reminded of Tails' brilliant mind and resourcefulness.

But as Tails sat in the cockpit, he noticed with dismay that even the equipment inside the _Tornado _had been disturbed. The computers were running their scripts at an agonising crawl, and some screens were only dimly lighting themselves.

Patiently, he waited a few more seconds. Holding his breath, he flipped a latch to reveal a handle.

Still not breathing, he lifted it by its red, rubber grip, twisted it ninety degrees, and then slammed it down.

Immediately the plane came to life. The propeller began to buzz and turn, within a few seconds it was nothing more than a blur. Without any more ado Tails began to taxi out of his warehouse, using a remote under his seat to open the double sliding doors that made up the entrance to the runway.

"You okay back there, Nickel?" asked Tails over his shoulder to the white hedgehog, currently slumped in the passenger's seat where Tails had dropped him.

Nickel simply nodded in reply, still looking much disorientated. Shakily, he mumbled, "Where's my emerald gone?"

"Sonic has it," said Tails. He had to stop himself elaborating. Many had tried to predict Sonic's next move and most failed (for instance Tails had been stunned when Sonic had insisted on taking the Rainbow emerald himself. He didn't know if Sonic was gambling on the Rainbow emerald's apparent failure to conduct energy when not in Nickel's possession or just really hoping it was about to make what Tails knew he planned more extraordinary). But in this case, Tails felt pretty safe guessing the faster they got out of this workshop, the better, and it wasn't because of the Egg Carrier bearing down on them.

As the two gigantic, steel sliding doors held shut by electronic locks opened, a barrage of rain and wind crashed into the _Tornado_. The fierce gusts lifted the biplane's two front wheels from the ground before gravity regained control. Where had the weather come from?

Tails pushed a handle forwards to its maximum value. Lowering the goggles on his head and his earmuffs, he listened with joy as the _Tornado's _engine came to life, and the red biplane fearlessly leapt out of the miniature hangar and into the raging storm.

Nickel had regained orientation over his senses – unfortunately, it may have been better if fate had left them dulled.

Nickel had no idea where they were but it no longer seemed to be Green Hill Zone. To his left, east, he thought, he thought he could see the haze of a city with its skyscrapers tainted light blue with distance. Everywhere else the terrain was in transition from what must have been the outer edge of Green Hill Zone to forested hills in the south. They had escaped the weather, and without the menacing storm clouds darkening the atmosphere it was actually quite the glorious morning.  
A headset and microphone was slung around his neck. Unable to otherwise contact his pilot, he put it on.

"Tails?"

"_You're awake! Check out behind us!"_  
Craning his neck behind him, he could make out the enormous shadow of the Egg Carrier cloaked in the storm. It was incomprehensible.

"One man built that?" he asked, stunned. "Are we going to be able to get away from that!?"

"_Don't worry, we'll be fine!"_

He cringed and took cover as the _Tornado_ shook from a hail of bullets. Bullets!  
"TAILS! STOP!" screamed Nickel, hating the feel of gravity so aggressively tugging on him as Tails pulled them into a tight and steep barrel roll. His feet left the floor for seconds at a time and he hung suspended only by his harness. He had stopped screaming incoherently when, after sixty seconds without pause he realised that it was not doing him any good. Nickel had no idea why the plane was still flying after everything it had been hit with – but all he could see of the bullets' impacts were dents.

Tails, within the cockpit, was looking at a video monitor to his right. At the moment it was receiving footage from a miniature camera at the back of the plane the same way a rear-view mirror might, and starring in it was a red-eyed Metal Sonic.

"Great, he _is _back," said Tails to himself.

The biplane that was the _Tornado _was fast, but Metal would fly rings around them – it was taking every bit of Tails' skills and the plane's ability to keep the robot from latching on to them.

Tails suddenly wrenched on the controls and yanked the biplane into a tight spiralling roll, diving for nearly five seconds before pulling up sharply. The whole plane seemed to shake with the speed, as if it would fall apart. Nickel braced and gripped his seat in terror, grimacing with his teeth clenched.

"You have a plan, right?" he shouted.

"_I do._ _Tornado_, _Battle Mode_, engage_!"_

By pressing a single red button in the cockpit, the whole plane began to rearrange. The gunner seat was elevated, and the wings slanted in such a way that they joined to look like an 'X' with the plane's body in the middle, increasing agility and control. The propeller on the nose of the plane folded flat and became an extra-strong shield for the cockpit, and the four green-nodes on the wings became the source of thrust for the plane, as well as a large, conical engine that blazed with blue fire at the back.

The blue windscreen that enveloped Tails and Nickel suddenly opened and slid out of sight, exposing them to the weather.

Their speed seemed to double, and the shaking the biplane had received from everything Tails had put it through disappeared. Spinning magnificently, the _Tornado _spiralled past Metal, and Nickel noted somewhere in the back of his mind how frighteningly similar he looked to Sonic – the groundwork for his design was unmistakable.

"_Tails, turn around_!" screamed Nickel. Metal was speeding towards the _Tornado's_ rear and gaining. Tails immediately took evasive action, spinning and turning and diving in every possible direction. Even with the use of the plane's 'battle-mode' Metal could not be shaken.

"_Gah, he's on me like glue!"_

"Tails," shouted Nickel, thinking that in their present predicament anything was worth a shot, "if you get me close enough I could use my psychokinesis"-

"_No good, look out!"_

Finally, after three minutes of furious flying, Metal had decided to end it, and launched a kick at the hull of the _Tornado_, tearing a hole in it. The _Tornado _span downwards, the ground rotating round and round and getting bigger and bigger.

The four green nodes on the wings flashed and the engine bellowed.

Nearly instantly, the plane stopped its fall. Nickel fell so hard against his harness the air rushed from his lungs and his eyesight momentarily fuzzed over. Both of them nearly fainted. Tails warily watched the Magic Ring fuel gauge drop a few notches.

With no more than five feet to go.

The landscape had become more jagged, and finally opened up to the sharp crevices one-hundred feet deep that made the feet of Rosemount Hill so infamous.

A scream from above of metal cutting through air.

"Tails, move us!"  
_"Nothing's responding!"_

Now Nickel screamed again, and hid his head beneath his arms.

It all happened so quickly. Even with his head buried, bright shining gold seared his eyes. A flurry of sound, something cleaving through the wind. The _Tornado _was buffeted fiercely, but Tails whooped for joy.

He opened his eyes to see something extraordinary.

It was Sonic, except it wasn't.

Flying unaided by machine was something both amazing and terrifying. His fur shone gold and his quills upturned. An iridescent gold aura around him burnt like the inside of an intense flame. He looked incredibly wonderful and impossibly powerful.

The Rainbow emerald was floating around his feet, which Tails noted as strange. What was it, if even Sonic couldn't absorb it?

"This is ridiculous!" screamed Nickel furiously. He was at his wit's end. "Who are you people!? What is that!?"

"_It's SuperSonic!" cried Tails, "When all seven Chaos emeralds come together, Sonic can absorb their positive powers and enter the Super-state."_  
"What is that meant to mean!?"

"P-primary directive-directive di-i-ictates I must destroy_…I am Metal Sonic" –_

Metal, thrusters on his back burning bright red, launched a heavy ranged assault at SuperSonic as the _Tornado _clumsily spiralled away to safety.

The bullets seemed to burn up in the aura surrounding SuperSonic, who remained still, red eyes fixed on Metal. His gloved fists were clenched as if trying to furiously retain the incredible energy pounding through him.

"It's over, Metal!" Tails heard SuperSonic shout, his voice magnified ten times louder, "You know where this ends!"

Metal physically attacked. Anybody else should have had their head snapped clean off. SuperSonic moved so quickly it was like he teleported, evading Metal's attack. Metal tried again.

"_Look!"_ cried Tails, _"The Egg Carrier's running away!"_

Nickel craned his neck around. The Egg Carrier's nose no longer faced in their direction. It was fleeing.

In the _Tornado_, Tails whooped and cheered; overjoyed by the fact that now there could only be one probable outcome.  
"Because of Sonic?"  
_"Yeah, because of SuperSonic! Be really glad he's on our side!"_

SuperSonic and Metal had disengaged.

"Ha…. You think I'm giving up, Hedgehog!?" shrieked Metal, "That I'll bow down? bzzzk, Primary directive dictates I must destroy the biological Sonic the Hedge- bzzzzk I WILL NOT FALL AGAIN!"

Still, SuperSonic did nothing. That he was so still was to Nickel unnerving. Was he waiting for Metal to surrender?

"I will not fall…" repeated Metal. And then again, he changed, "Primary directive dictates I must destroy" – He aimed one arm, transformed into a heavy weapon, at the wounded _Tornado_.

"Sonic!" yelled Tails, but there had been no need.

Finally, SuperSonic engaged. Quicker than Nickel could blink, SuperSonic was upon Metal, kicking him the distance of four football fields. SuperSonic followed, intent on finishing the job. Metal had not even landed before SuperSonic attacked him from above – a savage spindash with unparalleled power ripped straight through Metal's midsection, rending him in half, the edges of which glowed molten.

The robot fell apart without a fight. A crevice below them lay waiting, and every piece of him fell into the darkness below without a sound.

SuperSonic watched the space in which he had disappeared to for a moment. He gave a one-fingered salute and, with unnatural quickness, turned and seared across the sky back to the _Tornado_.

As he flew a streak of gold traced behind him, but it seemed to flicker like a dying light bulb – the tell-tale sign that he needed to get to safety.

"Sonic!"

The _Tornado_ spiralled from above, neatly stopping its descent and keeping at a constant speed to match SuperSonic's. Tails waved happily from the controls. Nickel stared at SuperSonic, and Sonic smiled as he bathed in the awe.

Tails lowered the plane and gently slowed them down, taking down his own windshield when the wind-pressure was low enough.

"Okay, just hop in, but don't let go of the" –

Sonic hopped onto the plane, and did not mean to release the Super state. But, as usual, as soon as he no longer needed it he felt the energy ebbing, and then bursting out of him like a collapsing dam.

He gasped and held on tight as the world span, and Tails yelled, "Shoot!" as seven emeralds but one Sonic managed to catch flew in all different direction like bullets. Nickel leant forwards to help Sonic clamber in, but seconds later the emeralds had been swallowed by the horizon.

With Nickel's help (he struggled to lift his arms, however, after their halting stop earlier), Sonic sat in the lowered gunner's podium at the back of the plane. He put on a headset and gave a thumbs up to show he was online.

Tails made a face inside the cockpit, and said after a moment, _"You coulda' done the healing thing."_

"_Ah, I'm sorry Tails, are you hurt?" _

Nickel thought he could detect a pinch of sarcasm in Sonic's voice.

"_No, no, I'm fine."_

"_Are you sure?"_

"_Sonic" – _

"_Just take us down, Tails. Marble Zone – let's go south." _


	6. Chapter 5 - Gathering the Gang

11

The Mystery Emerges

Gathering the Gang

7:30 am Saturday

The projected news report paused.

The GUN Commander did not turn away from it, ice-blue eyes fixed on the giant screen in front of him. The last twenty minutes had been pandemonic. A Robotnik Egg Carrier over Green Hill Zone, Sonic the Hedgehog's accomplice Miles Prower's house destroyed and two EMP's of unimaginable scale, and separate from any nuclear blast, a few hours apart in two different locations on the same continent, and the connection between all was absent.

U.F military had shown reluctance to engage the Egg Carrier – the Commander would say wisely. This was a violation of the Tri-Alliance and open invitation to war, but it was no invitation he wanted to accept any time soon.

"Rockwell's looking good."

The Commander took his eyes from the wall to look at Rouge. The darkness of the briefing room would seem like broad daylight to her eyes… and ears.

"I'm sorry?"

"The reporter – that woman was our whistleblower on the Bayne threat…" For some reason, Rouge seem to find that funny. The foot of one of her crossed legs jiggled languidly as she sat spread out in her seat in the first row.

The Commander took a breath, "Agent Rouge, if there was a purpose behind that comment I'd like to hear it."

A gravelly voice from the second row spoke. "There was no purpose, sir, Rouge was only hoping you'd remember one of her more… manipulative, triumphs." The light of the projector did not quite reach him, so Shadow spoke from half-darkness, hands clasped between his knees and shoulders hunched over. His irises burned red.

"Spoilsport."

"I'm allowing the Egg Carrier to escape, provided it continues to run." Said the Commander, "We don't want this escalated. The ship's above MagnoThermal curvature now, and was heading for the Atlantic when its cloaking took full effect and our signals stopped bouncing."

Shadow nodded. That was wise.

"I need to meet with the Generals again in seven minutes to know if we can halt the Egg Carrier. The EMP's are your priority. Not all of our equipment is protected from them – if this is a weapon, we are in serious trouble…"

"Have we any reason to assume it was one?" asked Rouge.

Rouge was a bat, a fearless G.U.N superspy of a few years, a member of Shadow's Team Dark, but first and foremost a treasure hunter; one teeming with feminine charm. She wore a tight body suit with a heart-shaped breastplate, long white gloves and white thigh-high boots. Her purple wings stretched over five feet across. Her loyalty had been earned by Shadow, and bought with a hefty paycheque by GUN.

"You're here because I want you to find out."

Shadow nodded. Being in cryosleep for the entire Robotnik War he had not seen an Egg Carrier's full devastation first-hand, but he had roamed far through the Zones they had been wielded on. A lone Egg Carrier was more than a match for a mega-city. It was with sadness he would not have the chance to see one first hand that he would accept the Commander's assignment.

"As you know, one of the EMP's detonated in Hill Top Zone, not far from an operating GUN base - Hubrijk. Strange and stranger reports are filtering in from the surviving GUN soldiers…"

Shadow and Rouge both looked up, and Rouge smile dropped.

"In-progress reports have been sent to you, it's all we have right now. Whatever happened, it resulted in MIA's and casualities," said the Commander, sincere regret in his voice, "It's not on the public news channels as of yet, but it's only a matter of time."

Shadow did not so much as blink, but he understood the true meaning. As per GUN protocol, it took six hours regardless of the situation to officially confirm anybody as KIA.

"General Gungrave was supervising Hubrijk when the EMP detonated roughly ten miles east, close to a civilian settlement. We are still waiting for him to report in."

Shadow held back a grimace. A dead GUN General would pull back productivity in a crisis. "Meanwhile there is the EMP in Green Hill Zone, not far from the current dwelling of Sonic the Hedgehog's close companion Miles Prower."

The Commander raised his face to his Agents. "How involved do you think they are?"

"As involved as it takes for Robotnik to reveal an Egg Carrier." chuckled Rouge.

Shadow said, "We don't scare Robotnik, and he hates Sonic." The Commander looked like he was about to say something, but Shadow was not going to let him. He was a good man, a great leader, but he had not seen Sonic and Robotnik in action. He did not believe in the human element that existed in their battles, and saw only an overpowered boy taking on a superpower best left to adults. Shadow knew differently. "My gut tells me Robotnik wouldn't launch an attack two doors down from the only person on Mobius he considers a legitimate threat. He likely knew something was going to happen, but is not the perpetrator and was likely curious."

Rouge said, "But if the dynamic-duo were there when this second EMP happened, chances are they might have some proper intel."

"_They,_ may even be the perpetrators." said the Commander. Shadow did not contradict him.

"Which still doesn't explain why there were two within a few hours of each other of exactly the same power in two completely unrelated places, all of their usual accomplices were far away from the area."

"Do you want us in Hill Top?" asked Shadow.

"No. Information before I send you chasing ghosts. Sonic the Hedgehog is once again involved and once again practicing vigilantism. He's our only lead. Find him, and get him back here."

12:30pm Saturday

The _Tornado_ had suffered moderate damage, but nothing Sonic did not think Tails could fix within a day. They had only just landed in Marble Zone, a beautiful zone that glimmered like diamond from the air and heated like a sauna on the ground. The natural waterways winding through the shimmering earth borders sometimes doubled as natural hot springs from volcanic activity beneath. Indeed, lava lakes were common here, though authorities had done their best to cordon them off since Sonic had last been here.

Now on land and sheltered by arching, smooth-barked trees and rocks of marble, they had gotten down to repairing the plane. Beneath, Nickel helped Tails make minor repairs to their plane – his psychokinesis was remarkably useful in bending parts of the hull back into shape.

Sonic had found somewhere to rest, and was sunning himself in the comfortable branches of a tree directly above the _Tornado_.

Tails called up to him, "And you're _sure _it felt no different than usual?"

"Nope. Didn't actually think this would all turn out so well."  
"My workshop got destroyed!"  
"Well, apart from that, I got to hit the SuperState," said Sonic, quickly.  
"And lost all our emeralds." said Tails, flatly. Sonic gave him a sheepish grin from amongst the long, green leaves of the Marble Zone pines.  
Tails just sighed heavily. "Well, it's what we do. I heard the U.F military have let the Egg Carrier escape. What bothers me is I don't know where it now."  
Sonic said, "I doubt we've seen the last of it! And it was always gonna be a long shot to keep the emeralds together _and_ locked away."  
"Maybe. But the SuperState felt no different?"  
"Nope. I mean you got a point – after what the emerald did back at your workshop I was thinking it was gonna power-up the SuperState or something" -  
-"Or just blow you up," muttered Tails, but either Sonic ignored him or didn't hear him. Nickel looked between them wildly, barely following the conversation.

-" but yeah, it just followed along and when I lost the rest of them, it went to."  
"At least you held on to one."  
"That I did."  
With a small flash a blue stone with a brilliant cut appeared in Sonic's hand. He flipped and caught it a few times. He leant back against the tree. "'Least that gets rid of Metal for awhile. Until Robotnik rebuilds him again, that is."  
"Maybe next he'll build a MetalTails!"

"But we do have something to worry about," said Nickel. "Where is my Rainbow Emerald exactly..?" he looked at Sonic expectantly, "I know you don't have it..."

"Oh yeah," said Sonic. He had temporarily forgotten about Nickel. He swung his legs over the branch so he could sit and better see Nickel below. "Well... um, so I couldn't absorb it like… but when I lost the SuperState it flew away with the rest of the emeralds." He spoke the last very quickly.

"It's not something he can help," said Tails in Sonic's defence, "It's just what happens when he drops out of the SuperState."

"Trust me, it's a pain for us as well. We quite literally spend half our time running around trying to find them. We finally get them all, in which time everyone's favourite despot has built something so big and bad I need to go gold to take it down. Then they spread all over the planet."

Nickel's face, if possible, went whiter.

"But then how will we find it!? It could take… years."

Sonic shook his head, "Nah, normally no more than a few months. They don't stay quiet for long. Wherever they are, something will be happening, something big. And Knuckles is, like, programmed with sat-nav for them."

Tails said confidently, "We'll get it back."

Nickel tried to ignore Sonic's flippant attitude. "But I... I have to get back... to wherever I came from."

"And we're here to help you do that, Nickel!" said Tails earnestly.

"But you have no reason to" – he protested.

- "Do we need a reason?" asked Tails tiredly.

"Or do you want a reason?" said Sonic. Nickel only looked back at him seriously.

"Well fine then. You say it's your fault Eggman attacked? So then it's your fault the emeralds are gone, right?"

Nickel looked slightly dumbstruck for a moment, caught between guilt and shock.

"Well, I didn't actually say it was _my_ fault…"

"So don't you think you should stick with us until we have all the emeralds again?"

"And you owe me for losing the Rainbow emerald, and for when I saved you from Metal Sonic," said Nickel, trying to sound snappy.

Sonic snickered, "Fine then, you help me get the other six Chaos emeralds back, and I'll help you regain your memory and get the Rainbow emerald back. Deal?"

Sonic flipped down from the tree, landing heavily directly in front of Nickel. He outstretched a hand.

"So, deal?" asked Sonic so charismatically Nickel couldn't help but feel a sense of adventure, even amusement, creep up on him. It was as if Sonic had patched up his confidence. They had done everything they could to keep him safe so far, anyway.

"Deal," agreed Nickel.

Sonic winked, and launched straight back into the tree, some ten feet above them, in a single jump.

"How do you do that?" gasped Nickel, stepping back in amazement, neck craned up to where Sonic was now swinging himself into position.

"Eh… it's a long story. Isn't it, Tails?"

"Longest story I know."

Nickel couldn't help it. He laughed in wonder, and went back to work on the _Tornado_. He didn't know who these people were, but something about them made him feel safe and comfortable, even if they were reluctant to tell him everything.

"So far we have three clues as to who I am then," said Nickel while using his psychokinesis to meld the bullet holes back together. "One: the Rainbow Emerald. Two: something about a snake and the Rainbow emerald… and a museum."

"What?" asked Tails and Sonic, in unison.

"You didn't mention that before?" said Sonic.

"I know, it sounds… stupid, a-and it's fuzzy," Nickel jabbered, "Somebody gave me the emerald, or at least found it with me, and then… did something bad. Something about a museum. No, I did something bad. Wrecked something, and I remember being scared, and wishing I could get away. He tried to attack me, _something _about a snake called 'Nyx', and next thing I know I was with Sonic. And I have a brother… but can't remember any more than that."

Nickel's ears drooped as he searched his memory, and came up with nothing.

"Did this guy, 'Nyx', chase you here?" asked Sonic. Nickel only shrugged.

"I don't know… but I have the feeling he's not somebody I'd like to see again."

"And wherever you came from had a Green Hill Zone, because you recognised the name," said Tails. "Perhaps you moved through time!"

"That's what I said!" said Sonic, annoyed.

"But that's craz – " started Nickel, before redeeming himself. Sonic thought it a wise decision.

"You could even have come from an alternate dimension," pointed out Sonic, taking a quick trip down memory lane, "like our friend Blaze."

"That's a good point," said Tails thoughtfully.

"Or maybe" –

Before Nickel could finish what was to be a sarcastic comment, the _Tornado_'s computer started up, and a blizzard of static filled the screen. But if you looked closer you could glimpse something red in between the static.

"_Bzzzzz Hey! Tails! C'mon you stupid bzzzzzz wor- bzzzz._"

"Is that...?" wondered Tails aloud.

Sonic sat up to get a better look at the computer on the plane's many dashboards (there was three computer screens in total spanning the area). Tails flew into the cockpit, saying: "I think we know that voice..."

After twiddling a few dials Tails managed to clear up the screen enough for them to see a rather angry looking echidna.

"Knuckles!" cried Tails happily. "Long time no see!" Knuckles looked the same as he always did; bright red fur, dreadlocked quills, and aggravated. On his hands he wore two white boxing gloves with two spikes on each along the knuckles. On his chest was white fur the shape of an upwards-facing crescent moon.

"Just turn the dial until my voice comes through with minimal static," said Tails clearly and patiently, then, slightly annoyed, "I set this up so it was basically a radio!"

"_Oh good," _said Knuckles_, "I finally got this stupid thing working. And radio's don't have 'security clients' and 'encoding programs'!"_

"I made it click and drag!" huffed Tails, now positively baffled at Knuckles' quandary.

"_Where are you? That doesn't look like your workshop..._"

Sonic jumped down from the tree to land on the plane. He said, "We've landed in Marble Zone. Long story... his workshop's destroyed..."

"_It is?!"_ exclaimed Knuckles.

"Well it was wrecked before and then SuperSonic kinda totalled it…"

Tails just nodded sadly. Tails had put a great deal of effort into that workshop, and Sonic hadn't liked breaking the news to him (he hadn't _meant _to destroy it). Sonic knew that Tails would be caught between rational thinking and sentimental compassion on this. On the one glove, the workshop was nothing but a building. On another, it was home, and that had always been a sensitive subject to Tails.

"I'm sorry, Tails," began Sonic, but before he could continue, Knuckles interrupted.

"_What do you mean_ you_ destroyed it?_ _What about the emeralds?!_" he cried. That was typical Knuckles: abrupt and to the point. Sonic assumed he had missed the SuperSonic reference.

"_The Master Emerald's been going nuts. Chaos Energy has sky-rocketed out of balance, it would have been a couple hundred miles north of here – it finished with a massive spike in positive energy, it seems to have settled now."_

-"Yeah... that was probably us. Well, SuperSonic. We... um... we, well _he_, actually, lost the emeralds..."

Tails smiled sheepishly at Sonic.

"_YOU WHAT_!? _Wait, _SuperSonic!?"

"Yes, Knuckles, I said that before. Twice."

"_I knew it_!" shouted Knuckles as Sonic came into sight. "_I should have figured you'd be involved in this! First the Master Emerald goes wacko then Angel Island does the same then I find out Tails workshop is destroyed _–!"

"Easy, Knuckles," said Sonic, the same way an adult may tell a child off for having a tantrum. "We're just as confused as you – almost."

"_I told you the emeralds should have stayed with me_! _Something was bound to happen to them!_ _How long until Robotnik or GUN or some dirty Pirate gets one!"_

"Just stop gettin' your tail in a twist and let me tell you what's been going on!" said Sonic impatiently.

"Who's that?" asked Nickel to Tails while Sonic jumped into the story.

"Knuckles the Echidna; he's the guardian of the Master Emerald, the balancing force of the Chaos Emeralds. He lives on Angel Island, which actually _floats_ because of the power emitted by the Master Emerald."

"Cool..." said Nickel, sounding half-disbelieving. Tails did not bother to push the subject, he was used to the reaction.

"_Wait, how much _does _he know? Where in the Trinity did he come from?"_

"He doesn't know."

"_More amnesia?"_

"That's what I said!"  
_"How much do you remember?"_

"Sketches," shrugged Nickel, "Everything I've already told you."

Sonic said, "He came literally out of thin air, Robontik knew he was coming. Knux, he had an eighth emerald."

Knuckles' face exhibited shock and disbelief as his entire world shifted.

"_That… it's impossible, he couldn't of_."

"We're not sure it is," said Tails, "It's got many colours instead of one. Sonic can't absorb it, SuperSonic couldn't either. Based on how I've studied them before that would mean it's Chaos-neutral, except whenever Nickel touches it."  
_"It's not neutral – the Master Emerald is struggling to keep it all in balance. An eighth emerald would explain what's going on. You need to bring it over here… I, I think there actually might be something about this in the mural rooms."_

"Um, we can't," said Sonic, "It blasted away with the rest of the emeralds when I came off the SuperState. The Echidna's knew about an eighth emerald?"

"_Of course it did." _Replied Knuckles with sarcasm,_ "And I don't know, I haven't been down there in a long time."_

"So we're off to Angel Island?" asked Tails happily.

"_Well, you better, seeing as you're homeless now. By the way you did say it was Marble Zone you guys crashed in right?"_

"I did not crash!" said Tails stoutly, "But yeah we're in Marble Zone, why?"

A sly grin spread over Knuckles' face. _"Last I heard a good friend of ours was hanging about there..."_

Alarm bells went off in Sonic's head: "Knuckles, _what friend_!?"

With impossible timing, her voice rang from a short distance away. "SOONNNIIIIC! I just _knew_ you'd come to find me, Sonic! We saw the _Tornado!_"

"Brilliant," he muttered, resigning himself to the worst just before a pink hedgehog leapt from the trees and crystals, grabbing him around the middle in an overly-enthusiastic hug.

Despite Sonic's loud and alarmed protests, Amy did not reserve any sense of self-preservation for either of them as she tackled Sonic from the plane and to the ground, Sonic landing heavily on his behind – his recent injuries twinging and stinging horribly, and he could add another one to that growing list: his poor, crushed tail.

"Oh, silly, aren't you happy to see me?" cried Amy Rose happily, continuing to hug Sonic in a vice like grip.

"Amy, I think your hurting Mr Sonic," said a polite voice from above. Cream the Rabbit poked her head out of the canopy and waved hello, her best friend Cheese the Chao doing the same.

"Chao-chao!" the blue little Chao squealed; cuteness incarnate.

At six years old Cream was one of the youngest members ever to join Team Sonic, but she was by no means a liability – in Sonic's eyes she was a good distraction for Amy.

"Tails," whispered Nickel, "Who are these people?"

"That's Cream and Cheese up there... and the one strangling Sonic is Amy Rose the Hedgehog."

At this point, Amy realised that she _was_ actually hurting Sonic, and jumped back; mortified at how beaten up he looked.

Sonic went to rise to his feet, only to accidentally slump to the ground again, causing Amy to grow more hysterical.

"Amy, please calm down," said Tails. "We ran into a bit of trouble..." he looked at Sonic to explain the days events, but the hedgehog seemed slightly predisposed as Amy pulled a first-aid kit from the _Tornado_ (Mauro knows how she knew where it was) and busied herself painting him in plasters. "Well, Nickel, this is Amy and Cream..."

Fifteen minutes later Tail's was finishing with: "Knuckles was just saying how we should make our way to Angel Island, as he thinks there may be a clue to whatever Nickel's vision might be about."

"I can't believe that stupid copy tried to hurt my Sonic!" yelled Amy, though not turning away from her patient for a second.

"I'm glad you two made it out safely," said Cream, gratefully.

"What's this blue thing?" asked Nickel, poking Cheese curiously.

Furious, the little Chao slapped his hand away and began to angrily throw hundreds of "Chao Chao Chao Chao!" at him.

"W-whoa!"

"Cheese is a Chao, please be nice to him. He's the most gentle and intelligent, chao." said Cream, tickling Cheese to calm him.

"R-right. Sorry..."

Cream smiled and beamed, evidently accepting his apology, before saying: "So you're on another adventure?!" her face lighting up with joy and large rabbit ears rising in excitement as she said it.

"Looks like it," smiled Tails.

"Oh! Can we come, too?" she squealed.

Sonic shot Tails a 'don't you dare' look over Amy's shoulder. He didn't mind Cream, and being worshipped by chao wasn't something one was easily bored of. No, it was the third member he did not think he could survive.

"We'd let you if we could, but the _Tornado _only seats three and Sonic really can't be sitting on the wings or running below us all the way to Angel Island," Tails lied. "And even if he did that still leaves one of us too many."

"That's okay! We brought the craft Sonic gave to Amy for her birthday!" said Cream sweetly, her high voice well mannered and polite.

Sonic interrupted furiously, "I told you that was joke from Knuckles! Tails made it!"

Cream only continued, "It's not as big as your plane, and doesn't have computers, but it sure is a very nice machine."

"Yep," said Amy while trying to stick a band-aid onto Sonic's nose with little success, "it's pretty cool and super fast. I was hoping that at one point you'd be able to fit it up with some gear, Tails."

"Well, let's hope you never have to use the sort of gear the _Tornado's_ got..."

"_Oi! Enough chit-chat!_" exploded Knuckles from the computer, "_Either start making your way here OR DON'T COME AT _A-_!"_

The screen reverted back to static.

"Oh no! I think Mr Knuckles accidentally broke his computer." said Cream in a worried voice.

"Not sure how _accidental_ it would have been," said Amy, stepping back from Sonic, plastered comically with bandages and band-aid's from head to toe.

"Ugh, I'll fix it when I get there. So everyone's in agreement then?' asked Tails, "Nickel, most of all do _you_ agree, do you think this is the right way to go?"

"Even if it wasn't, how am I supposed to refuse a _floating island!_" he laughed. "But, what about my emerald?"

"I promise we'll do that as soon as we've finished investigating Angel Island!" vowed Tails, "We have no idea where it could be, so it's best to pick a direction and stick with it."

"Amy, we should get back to our plane then." said Cream, curtseying and beginning to walk away from the _Tornado_.

"Oh, okay then, Tails, you keep an extra close eye on Sonic okay? Nickel, that goes for you too!" She fixed the two in an intense glare as she said it.

Nickel laughed nervously, unsure whether he was serious or not.

"Hehe, you got it Amy," grinned Tails, although a little timidly.

"Then let's get outta here!" said Sonic, shaking off the numerous medical wonders Amy had plastered all over him and jumping into the gunners seat of the _Tornado_. Tails, only a second behind him, started up the plane as soon as he was seated.

Nickel quickly finished on the last bullet holes, making a mental note to repair them with more precision once they had landed, and jumped into his seat as Amy started crying out for Sonic and them all to take care.

_VWOOOM_!

The plane roared forward and left the green grass and marble-like rocks behind as it leapt into the sky. To save energy, Tails quickly transformed the plane back into its original bi-plane composure.

There was no gunner's podium in this form, instead the gun faced the rear and the operator was granted a seat. Sonic stuck his feet up and promptly went to sleep, but Nickel craned his neck as far out as it could go to better look at the ground as everything rapidly got smaller and smaller – grinning with wonderment at the beautiful scenery.

This had to be the most interesting day of his life.


	7. Chapter 6 - Angel Island

10

The Mystery Emerges

Angel Island

5:00pm Saturday

The Mystic Ruins were a fairly peaceful place – apart from the odd giant wasp and fifteen foot eel. It was mostly swamp marshland teeming with mangroves, mud, and muck. Sparsely scattered throughout the thick marshland was a constellation of dreary and abandoned ruins. These were vestiges of a once-thriving civilization: the Echidnas, lead by The Great Pachacamac – a namesake passed down to the Echidna leader with each generation. The capital of the great Empire resided on Angel Island. Unfortunately the clan, upon realising their crushing defeat from the gizoids created by their rival clan some 4000 years ago, had pushed the entity Perfect Chaos, the Lake Guardian of the Master Emerald, into slavery. His rage instead backfired against his captors. Pachacamac had traded one genocide for another, as at nearly the same time their rival clan, the Nocturnus, simply disappeared off the face of Mobius.

Knuckles was the only known survivor of his clan. He now lived a life of solitude upon Angel Island, guarding the Master Emerald with only the chao for company. A genetic disorder had chipped away at the Echidna population ever since Perfect Chaos had attacked, and the Robotnik War took what was left. Due to this the Ring Pools across the world, once-upon-a-time sanctuaries for the Chaos emeralds, now lay unprotected (mostly), and the lone Echidna Guardian was committed to spending his life protecting the Master Emerald amidst the ruins of his lost tribe.

Nickel had not relaxed for the entire journey; there was too much to see, and so much to look forward to. He was so curious he felt like he was going to explode.

While Sonic had slept off the adventurous events of the morning, Tails had taken to the time to inform Nickel on some much needed exposition. He had explained the Master Emerald, the Chaos Emeralds, Magic Rings that come from Ring Pools where the seven emeralds belonged, Guardian Lakes created by the Echidnas, something called Perfect Chaos, the difference between 'Echidna' and 'echidna', and that there only remained just one echidna in the world.

Nickel found it all dizzying. If he had not seen a Chaos emerald himself he probably would have dismissed everything. But it had been no magic trick when both he and Sonic could 'absorb' the Rainbow emerald and the blue emerald respectively. However, Nickel could not absorb the Chaos emerald, reinforcing their suspicions that the Rainbow emerald was indeed something else.

That he no longer possessed his emerald was agonising. Something about it had seemed almost intelligent, like it had outstretched an emotional connection for Nickel to accept. It was his one and only clue to his past, and quite likely his key to returning home. And Sonic had lost it.

"_There it is, Nickel!"_ cried Tails, breaking him out of his thoughts. "_Angel Island_!"

Half standing in his seat, Nickel tried to peer around the girth of the plane.

"I can't see it!"

In response, Tails tossed the plane into a barrel roll – and began to circle steeply downwards.

Nickel thought he heard something go '_thud_' behind him over the roaring wind pressure and bellowing engine, but he ignored it, he couldn't tear his eyes away from the sight before him. He could see it now, yet he could barely believe it.

The island really was _floating_; pieces of it had even broken off and were still hovering in midair. He estimated it some twenty miles wide, though the semi-mountainous nature and sheer size and altitude meant he couldn't quite see the entire circumference. Numerous temples could be seen poking out of the canopy of the thriving and wild rainforest coating much of the island like a lush carpet.

"That's... that's..." was all Nickel could manage, lost for words. He turned in his seat to face Sonic, beyond excited at this incredible sight, "Hey, Sonic... Sonic?"

Sonic's seat was empty.

"Um, Tails, we may have a problem," said Nickel, not looking away from the seat.

Swivelling in his seat, Tails' eyes widened to the size of saucers as he realised the crisis.

"_Oh no! He must have fallen out when we barrel-rolled!"_

"Over there!" shouted Nickel, pointing somewhere below and behind the plane.

Sonic was falling spread-eagled down to Mobius, yelling at the top of his lungs the whole way.

Through some quick and skilled piloting and the help of Nickel's psychokinesis, Sonic was soon back in his seat – looking extremely disgruntled and shocked.

"_Sorry, Sonic!"_ yelled Tails through his mic.

Giving a dizzy and shaky thumbs-up Sonic managed to get out a, "No problem."

He shook his head a few times to try and clear it, and then stretched awkwardly in the crammed seat.

"Between you guys and Amy, who needs Robotnik trying to kill me every week?"

Tails knew he was joking, but Nickel needed an encouraging wink from the blue hedgehog to get him to laugh along.

"_Okay, we're coming in for landing!"_ yelled Tails, _"The Golden Rose won't be far behind us, but they've never landed here before. I'll set off a flare to let them know where the airstrip is."_

By hitting a few buttons on a keypad, Tails deployed the flare and expertly dipped the plane towards Angel Island for landing.

The airstrip wasn't actually an airstrip, it was just the only place on the island straight enough and long enough to land an aircraft – it wouldn't be of much use for anything bigger than the _Tornado_.

"_Okay guys, hold on! This airstrip can get a bit bumpy!"_

Nickels eyes widened as the strip of land came in to greater detail: pot-holes, tree roots, rocks and uneven ground plagued the small strip of land.

Tails could have just transformed the plane into its battle-mode, gaining the ability to hover and land with ease. But he liked the challenge. And the chance to see if his engineering had been good enough.

Nickel yelled and closed his eyes as the _Tornado_ came within seconds of landing, bracing himself for impact.

Shadow and Rouge had quickly realised they were never going to keep up with the _Tornado_, the custom-built dog-fighter they were sure Miles Prower would be using again, without an aircraft of their own – which is why they had decided to take one.

Shadow was crouched to one knee and carefully surveying the GUN testing strip spread out across the canyon below them. A few fighter-jets were taxiing out of hangers and into whatever position they had been ordered to, dozens of people ran around like ants, and in the distance small clouds of billowing dust could be seen; evidence of recent explosions. A GUN testing strip out here was not so out of the ordinary, the uninhabitable Rail Canyon was certainly suitable terrain for such practices.

They were in the southernmost section of Rail Canyon, a hot, barren, rocky plateau with giant canyons running through it like gouged scars. Once upon a time Dr Robotnik had used the place as a giant base, riddling it with thousands of rails and tunnels. After the base was abandoned, these remained. GUN had since hijacked remaining infrastructure.

"I'm sure we can get an aircraft from here," muttered Shadow to Rouge, who crouched just behind him and scanning the strip as well, but instead through a pair of specially designed contact lenses that worked as binoculars when activated. Shadow's eyes were keen enough that from this distance that he did not require technological support.

"You can't see a plane you're qualified to fly, can you?" asked Rouge, snarkily.

"No, none of them come in black." Shadow stood.

"We should move; we haven't got too much time. We'll find the commanding officer here, he should be happy to see us..."

Shadow stood to make his way towards the busy airstrip, but as he did his wrist-communicator began to vibrate.

Shadow pressed the one and only button on the watch, and instantly a hologram was projected from the watch's tiny screen.

It was the Commander.

"Sir," they echoed, saluting appropriately.

"_Shadow, Rouge, I know this is going to be a detriment, but I need you two to split up."_

"Why?" asked Rouge quickly, before continuing in a slightly flustered tone, "What's happened?"

"_Stranger and ever more stranger reports coming from Hill Top Zone. There were two unidentified persons at ground zero at the time of the pulse, and one or both were involved in the attacks on our personnel."_

"Human or anthrohuman?"

"_One has been described as a white hedgehog, the other… if you would believe the reports from shell-shocked soldiers then the second was of neither species. It could be a Robotnik invention of some kind."_

"A description, sir?"

"_There is no accepted description as of yet," said the Commander firmly, "What is confirmed is that one has gone off the radar, and one is headed south. People are beginning to lose their heads over this, and the brass I trust are already spread thin. I want one of you back at GUN HQ to await further orders, only one of you is needed to attend to Sonic."_

The image faded.

Rouge commented, "Well I know _somebody _who's 'losing their head'."

Shadow said, "What he says makes sense, only one of us is needed to go fetch Sonic anyway."

"You want to do it?"

"Not particularly."

"Aw, but you two must be missing each other by now," Rouge pouted.

"I'll head back to GUN," said Shadow. "That boy has a habit of doing the opposite of anything I say, anyway."

But before Rouge could agree or disagree a siren from the airbase pierced the air. It did not smother the rumbling tremor, the sound of searing speed, from above.

It was a Robotnik vessel. It was far too small to be the Egg Carrier. It was built for speed while maximising size, as it was perhaps the size of a passenger jet. Unlike a commercial craft it ripped through the air, powered by enormous engines attached to its red hull. Evenly proportioned in a wedge shape, its entire bottom half was one efficient but old-fashioned engine – it hosted no MagnoThermal Sockets. The relatively thin upper deck could fit dozens of crew, or in this case more likely robots. Shadow had seen them before – they were extremely agile, capable of stopping to a hover even, but hopelessly sensitive to any damage to its hull or engine.

The jet planes at the base scrambled, but they were ignored, or perhaps taunted, as in seconds the craft had become nothing but a small dot on the rippling horizon.

"You think that was him?" asked Rouge.

"He can't follow Sonic in an Egg Carrier, it's too slow, so he's downshifted," replied Shadow. He faced Rouge, "I guess we just got assigned our directions."

"You can say that again. Have fun with Robotnik, I'll go deliver the good news to GUN."

Flaring her large purple wings, she leapt into flight. She would return to the vehicle that had gotten them this far.

Kicking his air-shoes into action, he skated down the canyon; a blur of orange and black and a torpedo of dust.

They had made the landing with only minimal damage to the _Tornado _and only moderate damage to Sonic, whose eyes had regained their wonky spirals.

"Sorry, Sonic," said Tails.

"Well... as long as we're back on the ground..." he started, snapping out of the stupor and jumping to the earth below. "Alright! Now that's more like it!" he tapped the ground with his sneakers, "see you in a bit!"

And he was off; in a flash of blue light he was just... gone. Nickel stared at the airborne dust in his wake with awe.

"You'll get used to it," said Tails to the dumbstruck hedgehog.

Both Tails and Nickel laughed, just as the whine of another aircraft filled there ears.

"_TAILS MOVE YOUR BUTT OUTTA THE WAY BEFORE I MOVE IT FOR YA!"_ bellowed Amy through the radio, who could be seen in the cockpit of an oncoming _Golden Rose,_ swinging her Piko Piko hammer threateningly.

What Sonic had said to Tails and Nickel before had been true: it _did_ feel much better to be back on the ground, even better to be exploring. Angel Island had so many wonderful places to sprint over, around, under, and in some scenarios straight through, and he hadn't been here in too long. The ground varied from damp to hard, uneven to dead straight punctured only by gnarled trees that, being geographically isolated from the rest of the world, were unique in hundreds of ways. The colours were bright and vibrant, from the bright green leaves of the rainforest to the purples, reds, blues and yellows of the fruit and man-sized mushrooms, to the crystal clear water (though he did his best to stay away from that). Statues of echidnas and grand temples were dotted around the island, though most had fallen and all were crumbling with immense age.

Five temples stood out from the rest. In fact they stood out from the entire island because of their enormous height. Green vines covered their bottom quarters and much of each temple had crumbled away, but their majesty had not quite faded yet. Sonic scampered up the marble steps, staring with wonderment at the colossal super-structures above him. He knew that at the top of the centre pyramid would be the Master Emerald, as well as a beautiful courtyard where the seven Chaos Emeralds would have been held when the Echidnas gathered them all, according to historical records once every one-hundred years. He slowed to a jog as a speck of red came into sight at the top of the temple.

"Was wondering when you would show up!" yelled a familiar voice, "you took your sweet time about it!"

"Nice to see you, too." replied Sonic, giving the sturdy echidna a casual two-fingered salute as he came into view.

Sonic was still conquering the last few steps when Knuckles said, "Sheesh, you look even worse up close!"

"Same goes for you, Chuckles."

Knuckles gave Sonic a rare smile, saying "I see Metal Sonic failed to beat down your warped sense of humour. But what happened - why Metal Sonic?"

"Why not Metal Sonic?" asked Sonic, throwing his hands in the air, "Robotnik was involved, he had an Egg Carrier planted near Green Mountain – and I'm not kidding when I say planted. It must have been there for years…"

Kuckles' eyes widened, "An Egg Carrier?"

"And that's not the weirdest part, I haven't told you how we met Nickel yet… um, thanks?"

Knuckles had tossed him a wooden flask.

"It's water from the Master Ring Pool."

"Oh, cool!" said Sonic, moving forwards, "I totally forgot, Chaos is back there now, right? I should go say hello!"

Knuckles blocked his way, and said as if speaking to a delinquent, "You can't just go 'say hello' to a God, Sonic!"

"Why, do I need to book an appointment? And he's not a God he's a," Sonic made finger quotes with his hands, "'concentration of Chaos Energy into a physical-fluid form harnessed yet since evolved from Echidna chemical engineering." He dropped the finger quotes, and whined, "C'mon, Knux" –

"No! It's going to take decades for him to recover anyway. Just drink the water."  
Sonic sighed heavily. "I guess he'd probably just drench me like the other Lake Guardians do, anyway."

Popping open the flask he took a generous gulp. Having plenty of experience in Ring Pools, Chaos Shrines and Magic Rings, Sonic knew the water had healing properties.

"Angel Islands' Ring Pool has the most delicious water in the world," boasted Knuckles proudly, chuckling with confidence.

"Tastes like water to me." said Sonic offhandedly, "Mineral water, actually. Ick."

"You're a real" –

"Thanks, Knuckles," cut in Sonic, taking another sip, "It's appreciated."

"No problem..." he grumbled.

"Sooonniiic!" echoed a voice from below.

It was Sonic's turn to grumble.

Tails, Nickel, Amy and Cream were making there way up the steps. But while the others took the steep slope slowly, Amy charged up the steps, determined to reach Sonic as quickly as possible.

But in the end it was her who made it up last: Nickel, Tails and Cream could all fly, reducing the required effort immensely. Amy finally made it to the top, huffing, puffing, panting and looking rather flustered. She had to lean on her giant hammer to keep herself upright.

"Nickel, right?" said Knuckles, looking the white hedgehog up and down.

"Erm, yeah..."

"Knuckles. This is my Island. Tails, you can tell me exactly how this," Knuckles waved to them all, "happened as we go. We're heading into the temple."

"You're going to show us the clue?" asked Cream with an excited air as Cheese zoomed around her head to emphasize their suspense.

Amy had to suppress a groan, but trailed behind the others all the same, not bothering to appreciate even the spectacular views and architecture around her due to her exhaustion.

Already knowing their tale, Nickel let his attention go while Tails reported to Knuckles. Every fallen brick and pillar was fascinating, the architecture like nothing he had ever seen. Even the smell of the place was alien.

Knuckles led them deep under the temple so that they were directly underneath the Master Emerald's courtyard. He lit a long piece of wood, its tip covered in cloth and oil (giant-grub oil, as a matter of fact – how Knuckles got the stuff Sonic never wanted to find out) to make a torch. Inside the walls were no longer white and crumbly stone, but dark and crumbly earth. Tree roots protruded here and there, and the place was largely unkempt, but a trail could still be seen, and brackets on the walls where torches had once been, too. A few statues and broken pillars littered the area, and the gentle but eerie 'drip...drip' of water that leaked through the earthy walls echoed throughout the caverns and tunnels Knuckles slowly led them into.

Seeing the youngest of their little tribe, Cream, was looking a little hesitant, Amy gave her a comforting one-armed hug.

As they walked, Tails finished the tale. Knuckles said, "So he appeared out of nothing?"

"According to Sonic, yes."

"He did!" exclaimed Sonic, irritated at the 'according'.

"And I have only a little memory of how I got there." said Nickel.

"Sound like the typical thing to happen around you," said Knuckles with an accusatory tone to Sonic.

"Hey, Robotnik was more involved than me! You should be happy I was there – no," he turned to Nickel, "_you _should be happy I was there!"

"I never said I wasn't," said Nickel, defensively.

"Well that, 'Rainbow emerald', as ridiculous as it sounds, definitely reminds me of what I'm about to show you." said Knuckles. Then firmly, "But it's _not _an eighth emerald. That's impossible."  
"I'd be sceptical too, if I hadn't seen it myself." said Tails.

"Well it's not. Also, Metal Sonic – you're definitely sure he's destroyed?"

Sonic said, "SuperSonic got him, yeah."

Knuckles threw him a weird look familiar to Sonic, one that he responded to with a shrug. Knuckles shook his head, saying, "You're the same person."

"It just doesn't feel right to say so. Maybe you need to have gone Super – _properly _Super, to get it." Sonic elbowed Nickel, "Even the Guardian of the Master Emerald can't go Super! Just, _me_!"

Knuckles grunted, "There are some mysteries in this Universe, Sonic, I never want to understand."

Nickel piped up, "So not just anybody can do that? That gold and flying thing… SuperSonic?"

Sonic explained, "This other guy we know can, but he's direct lineage to another guy we used to know that was basically the Godfather of all Chaos, so that's probably why."

"What Sonic _means_," interrupted Knuckles contemptuously, "Is that the Magic Rings he has absorbed over the years allows the emeralds to use him as a conduit for infinite positive Chaos energies" –

"Ah, no it doesn't!" proclaimed Sonic imprudently, with just a hint of superiority, "You're chock full of Magic Rings and you can't do it."

Knuckles fumed, but fell silent.

Nickel remembered what Tails had said about Magic Rings. Carefully, not wanting to upset the formidable echidna, Nickel continued speaking to Sonic, "So, why can you go Super then?"

"I'm special."

Knuckles, Tails and Amy snorted with laughter (though Knuckles' probably bordered on derision), leaving Sonic looking at them strangely, as if he didn't know what he had said wrong.

Finally, they made it to a tunnel that steeply spiralled downwards, eventually leading to two ancient and giant doors. Sonic guessed they were at, or close to, the bottom of Angel Island. Faint pictures could be seen etched onto the doors, but the dim light and the extent of their damage made them near impossible to make out. Runes covered the outer rim of each door, but none of them but Knuckles could translate them. One of the two doors was ajar.

"Your clue's in there," said Knuckles gruffly, gesturing with the torch.

Striding forward, Sonic led the way in, fluidly pinching Knuckles' torch out of his hand. He nimbly slid past the gap between the doors – pushing them further open would either be impossible without more pairs of hands or simply cause them to topple over. But he was surprised to walk in and see... nothing. In fact the first sense to be amazed by the room was not his eyesight but his sense of smell: the room stunk with the musty smell of 'old'. The ground was an inch thick with loose dirt. The light provided by the torch in his hand failed to illuminate anything in front of him except the ground he walked on. But, turning around, walls extended from the doors, and as he walked closer, he noticed they had pictures painted on to them.

Knuckles came next, saying: "This is the largest display of art on Angel Island, about two- hundred feet in diameter I think."

"This room is empty," exclaimed Amy as she entered.

"No, it's not," smiled Sonic, "Look!"

He raised the torch as high as he could, illuminating as much has he could of the wall in front of him.

The room was circular, and in a sense Amy was right, it was empty. But on the _walls_ were their clue. It was gigantic: one huge picture enclosing the room's two-hundred- foot circumference. Each picture was separated from another by pillars made of a fibre-like material that ran from the floor to a towering ceiling so high they couldn't even see it. It was impossible to see from one end of the room to the other, such was its vast size.

"We're gonna need some light," said Knuckles, snatching his torch back and marching to the centre of the room. It seemed he was walking nowhere, as there was nothing to judge the size of the room, and nothing to see him pass or tread over.

Then for a moment the orange blob of light in the distance that was Knuckles, disappeared.

Everything was silent, Sonic and the others waited in the silent darkness with baited breath for the red echidna to reappear, and all of them couldn't help but grow uneasy when he didn't.

Sonic had taken a single step forward in the darkness when suddenly the pillars that separated one wall from another shined with an orange-white light from inside. The ceiling was not covered in stone stalactites, but in yet another giant picture rimmed with a gold border.

"Wow," cried Tails. He and Nickel jumped into the air to get closer to the incredible ceiling and the lofty walls. It's grandeur was only surpassed by its age.

"This is amazing!" shouted Nickel from the ceiling. "Who made this?"

"My ancestors!" called Knuckles, emerging from a small burrow in the centre of the room, "The Clan Pachacamac!"

"I guess those are what you wanted us to see, right?" asked Sonic, walking towards one of the walls. Many were too faded to even make out, but the distinctive aesthetic used by the Echidnas was clear in each. "Knux, are their many rooms like this on this island?"

"Knuckles," breathed Tails, "You really need to let people restore this place…"

Knuckles ignored that. "Nickel! This is it, ready to find out the truth?"


	8. Chapter 7 - Nickel Remembers

12

The Mystery Emerges

Nickel Remembers

"This gets complicated," called Knuckles, "I came down here a few hours ago for the first time in years and I deciphered some of it, but it's as vague as it is faded. The first wall and its illustration talk of, of course," he let sarcasm drench his voice, "of a coming cataclysm that happened thousands of years ago, presumably at the dawn of the Echidnas or maybe even before." He waved at the illustrations flickering in the light upon the giant wall, "It was a time of peace, shown by the greenery and fruits – that's an Echidna cultural symbol. Interestingly enough though, somewhere this does say that this cataclysm did not happen to the Echidnas, but some other race."

"Like…?" prompted Tails.

"You'll find out," there was excitement in Knuckles' voice, "Anyway, somebody in this race of people found something, something powerful, and it's foreshadowed on this wall that whatever he found, 'was destined for demise'."

"Cheery." Sonic said.

Knuckles finished reading the first template, and moved onto the second slab of wall. There were seven in total to tell the faded tale.

"This one talks about a 'battle of thought', probably some clash of ideals in thousands-of-years-Before-Calendar Echidna vocab. And it introduces these key players in this coming cataclysm – the Six, the head of which is directly referred to as a king. This 'King' put in place a plan to use whatever he had found to summon some great power which here is talked about as something inherently evil… like I said, vague."

"I don't get how this has anything to do with me," said Nickel uncomfortably, "What if we're way off base?"

They moved to the third template. The pictures were greatly faded, and the runes Knuckles read were gibberish to anybody else. Primitively etched on the wall, however, was very clearly the Master Emerald, surrounded by dozens of humanoid figures.

"Humans?" asked Sonic, genuinely surprised, "wait…"

"We never paid too much attention to this wall, but it is _very very _old. In the time this was made, humans were meant to be nomad tribes in what is now the U.F belt, Mazuri and in Chun Nan. But this picture pretty clearly shows them as something more organised. This… could even be a civilisation – but let's not get too far ahead of ourselves."

"Yeah, before you rewrite history," smirked Sonic, and Knuckles looked slightly abashed. The concept that humans had a civilisation before the Echidnas was groundbreaking.

"This wall talks about a resistance against the Six. You can see the humans painted in different colours, and here one or two integrated into the mass of opposite colour. They've infiltrated them. Here, this bit: 'seven hearts spurred, before the King. Hearts made glorious, do the powers sing.' Something big was about to happen, but from the next wall it all went wrong."

"Hearts? What?" asked Amy, blankly.

"I know, I was lost, too," said Knuckles, excitement creeping into his voice, "but then I thought about it, and it's just the vocab back then, it probably refers to something else. Echidna symbols see the heart of a sentient creature as something precious and powerful – and I think I know what this refers to! Just let me finish."

Knuckles read the template of the fourth wall while the others gazed in awe at the faded paintings. "Basically the world holds it breath as everything is set to be devastated. The Six gain some sort of monumental power, and I mean like _massive_. This text here calls them 'Deities', and that's pretty heavy considering that to the Echidnas gods and deity's were all the same thing. But, surprise surprise, at the last moment this head of the resistance, this hero, steps up and saves the day:'but in the moment of truth, a resisting hero rose to knowing part, and laid his trust upon the seven hearts'."

The picture on the wall was of that last line; a hand with seven grey objects at the fingertips.

Sonic said flatly, "I don't get it."

"Well wait a moment for me to finish and you might! All the text is gibberish to me from here on in, I didn't have enough time to decipher any more. All we have are the pictures."

Sonic hid is exasperation, and surveyed the last two walls. He shared Nickel's discomfort, this did not appear to have anything to do with them.

The fifth wall was rent in half by a giant crack in the earth. But the sixth was more helpful. Six large silhouettes were in poses that suggested great pain. A blue, humanoid figure in the centre had its arms raised, holding eight differently painted orbs below a vicious tear of light and colour in the shape of what was undoubtedly the Master Emerald. One orb was painted many different colours, all perfectly measured and separated, though the fade made them seem smudged.

"I don't think it matters that we don't have the entire story..." gasped Tails, knocking his fist on the wall in excitement. His eyes were fixed on the sixth wall.

"Why? What does it mean?" pressed Amy; confused.

"If this is what I think it is," said Tails, sounding as if he was controlling the urge to whoop with excitement, "then this is the creation of the Chaos Emeralds."

"Bit of a stretch, don't you think?" asked Sonic, sceptically, "the number seven pops up all the time, I'm sure Echidna mythology has some other 'seven heart' analogy, right Knux?"

"Well, uh, maybe, I don't really… I'm not sure..."

Sonic chanced a sideways glance at Knuckles, and hastily let the matter drop.

"Then, how am I involved?" murmured Nickel, "I've never heard of this at all, and why would there be eight..." he trailed off, suddenly looking paler than usual. "The Rainbow Emerald..."

Suddenly he gasped, and staggering back slightly. Nobody noticed, they were all too intent on the discovery.

Tails continued, "Sonic, I'm sure this is it! I dunno where the Rainbow Emerald comes into it; it only says the Resistance created seven, in the picture there's eight." Tails thought aloud, "But I'm sure this Nyx character must be one of the Deities! Nyx and five others get together and try to... do something... are you sure you can't do more with the translation, Knuckles?"

Knuckles shot him a dirty look, and said snappily, "Well why don't you translate old Echidna when you only know half of the present language to begin with?"

"Okay, okay, I-I understand..."

Tails was looking affronted, so Sonic took over, "Somehow this Six try to do something, not everyone agrees, a Resistance is made and they infiltrate the Six, everything goes wrong when they summon this 'ultimate threat', and somehow the Chaos emeralds are involved. Wow, bestselling stuff that."

"Yeah, Sonic, it's vague we get it. But here the seven emeralds are all grey," said Knuckles, gesturing to the fourth wall, "colour was hugely symbolic to the ancient Echidnas, so that's not to be overlooked. What did the 'resisting hero' do to stop the Six? And how did the emeralds become how they are today? Not to mention how on Mobius is the Master Emerald involved. I can't find mention of it, only that wonky picture."

"The fifth and sixth templates might have explained that," replied Sonic gesturing to the faded walls where the runes should have been.

"Or it could all just be a huge coincidence," muttered Amy, looking over at Cream and Nickel for support, but was startled to see one of them in a terrible way: "Hey, Nickel, are you alright?"

Sonic had not noticed Nickel collapse to the floor, his breathing shallow and quick. His topaz eyes were wide and seemed to stare off into nowhere. Sonic cocked his head as he studied Nickel's expression.

"We'll get to the surface," said Knuckles, "oxygen here isn't exactly brilliant."

Amy bent down and hauled him to his feet.

"I'll help, too!" suggested Cream, helpful as ever as she saw Amy struggling to walk with Nickel towards the giant doors. Even Cheese chipped in.

"I think things will speed up a bit if _I_ do the walking," Sonic sneered, though with no insult intended. In a blaze of blue, he had rammed into Nickel's back and was half-carrying him to the surface, blasting out of the gap between the giant doors, and though the huge slabs of stone must have weighed some incredible amount, they still were dragged forward slightly in the slipstream.

"Sonic, let go!" cried Nickel, eyes watering from the intense speed and the dust.

It did not matter; they were already in the last cavern. Bright white light flooded in from the outside, partially blinding them. Sonic became slightly apprehensive when they stopped and Nickel automatically put twelve feet distance between them, collapsing to his knees at the end.

"It's all my fault... all mine... she...why...?" he seemed barely in control.

"Nickel, you've remembered something?" questioned Sonic from the other side of the cavern.

Nickel did not answer. Sonic saw his shoulders begin to shake as his whole body trembled with tears.

"Whoa, ah, Nickel – I know it's all been a bit hectic but you're with me and my team, nothin's gonna go wrong now" –

But Sonic jumped as Nickel shouted with uncharacteristic venom, "You know nothing!" He pushed himself to his feet, and then looked at him strangely. In an instant, his looked softened. "I need to get home and figure out a way to stop Nyx. And my… brother. I need to find my brother before..." Without glancing once at Sonic, he started towards the caverns exit.

"Whoa, who said anything about stopping anyone?!" said Sonic, alarmed. "Who's Nyx?"

Quick as a flash he had caught up to Nickel. "And if we do then you don't need to do it by yourself..." He placed a hand on Nickel's shoulder, pulling him back slightly to stop him.

"JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Nickel swiped out at Sonic, who dodged the fist but not the psychokinetic blow. The energy slammed into him like a truck, throwing him twenty feet backwards, straight into Knuckles who, with the others right behind him, had just entered the cavern from the confusing network of tunnels.

Both of them fell sprawled to the ground; stunned. Immediately Tails and Amy helped them to their feet.

"Get your quills outa my face, you stupid hedgehog!"

"Echidna's aren't exactly a velvet cushion, Knux!"

"Nickel why would you do such a thing?!" cried Cream angrily. It was always quite surprising how such a small voice seemed to impact you so very much when she wanted it too – Nickel was no exception. Arms still raised, Nickel felt frozen. He simply looked at the small gang, unsure what to say.

Then he turned and fled into the blinding white light of the outside.

"Wait, Nickel!" yelled Sonic, jumping to his feet and sprinting after him. He could only think that the kid must have remembered something, and whatever it was it had terrified him.

"Sonic, wait up!" said Knuckles, all five of them now in full pelt after the hedgehog.

Sonic, Knuckles, Tails, Amy and Cream burst out into the light, just below the Master Emeralds' courtyard. Nickel was half running, half flying down the steep white stairs of the temple.

"Where does he think he's going?" queried Knuckles. Amy gasped.

"Couldn't he just jump straight off the island? He'd land fine with his PK."

"Nickel!" yelled Sonic, cupping his hands around his mouth so his voice would carry further. But Nickel was quickly disappearing into the rainforest.

"I'll catch him," said Sonic to his friends. Before anybody could say anything Sonic was halfway down the temple.

Nickel was now out of sight, concealed by the dense rainforest that was Angel Island. Sonic, too, disappeared into the momentous flora, ripping a path of upturned soil an undergrowth behind him.  
He was so focused on the flickers of white ahead of him, he did not notice something dark incoming from his periphery.

A ball of extremely hot Chaos energy forced him to diverted his course. The golden lance did not come close to hit him, however, but it did land its mark on one naturally flammable element of the rainforest.

The tree's base burst into flames, sending black smoke billowing into the air.

"Him?" Sonic asked aloud. Why on Mobius was Shadow here? He was going too fast to look behind him, so he sped up.

Gold spears would not kill him like the more deadly red ones, but they would sting more than a stun gun, worth avoiding as if they were bullets. Sonic did not stop. He screamed through the rainforest, a blur of blue and red, reacting at speeds unfathomable to anybody else on the planet.

Except perhaps Shadow.

Out of his peripherals, Sonic could see a rampage following not half a second behind, and tried to keep in as straight a line as possible – not that he did not think he could take Shadow. He just did not want to get held up and risk losing Nickel.

At least, that was what his swelled over-confidence told him.

They were heading to Angel Island's north (it rotated slowly, so it had a fixed north different to the rest of the planet's to make directions easier), which meant soon entering the heaviest mountain terrain upon the island, about two minutes of running away.

But they were still in the rainforest – Sonic knew he had a chance to catch Nickel on the less obstructive mountains, but if he didn't keep up while in the dense foliage Nickel would still find away to get out sight and out of the game. Sonic could see him just ahead, keeping his distance.

Something hot approached from behind, and Sonic ducked just in time before a small but searing Chaos spear flew overhead, smashing into another tree, The shockwave buffeted Sonic, but the thought of what sort of injury he would sustain if he crashed at these sorts of speeds was good incentive to rev his feet harder and find solid earth.

He thought he heard a familiar, gravelly voice yell something, but the wind whipped it from his ears.

They were now sloping downhill, steeper and steeper – Nickel, probably half-flying as he fled, would barely notice, but Sonic would have to kick things up a notch if he wanted to keep up.

A huge tree, probably over two metres across had partially fallen into the leafy arms of its surrounding comrades, forming a sort of crude plank that jutted out over the rapidly descending slope to a drop of nearly thirty feet. It gave Sonic an idea.

"Chaos Spear, this!" called Sonic over his shoulder, not altogether sure Shadow could hear. It made him feel better anyway.

Sonic charged up the fallen tree, gathering power in his legs, and when he reached the very tip, _jumped_. Now in the air, he could take a second to look behind.

Shadow, right on his heels and thus unable to make the snap decision, was not so game. He held back by just before he would have charged right over the edge, nearly hissing in distaste. It gave Sonic a note of triumph as he flew through the open air – if things had been serious Shadow would have no doubt taken the risk. Behind him flames and billowing smoke traced their path through the rainforest.

Sonic whooped with the exhilaration as his momentum carried him for one, two, three seconds in freefall, then he hit the thinning canopy.

In a perfect example of recklessness that should never be awarded with style, much less survival, Sonic grappled with a supple, bendy branch to swing down to the forest floor, and then broke his fall within the soft and damp soil below with a powerful Sonic Spin, fluidly rolling into a spindash to absorb further impacts. He barely recognised how lucky his daredevil act had been. He didn't care.

"Follow that, faker!" Sonic yelled, charging after Nickel.

Rouge had just touched down on the grey tarmac of Central City's busy, loud yet coordinated GUN aircraft. She was met by a dark-skinned man she knew by reputation alone; Major Redfreid. Apparently he was a war hero from the Robotnik war when he had been a paratrooper. He now commanded a small-team task force distinguished by cybernetic enhancements to the core members. She would have to do some homework on whether any had a background in the Black Fleet.

Like all GUN field agents he wore a black, armoured uniform and cap, with a golden insignia on his right shoulder to signify his rank. His anti-flash sunglasses completely obscured his eyes.

"Nice to meet you, Rouge," he said, shaking her hand with a grin full of large white teeth on his face. Because of his immense size (he must have weighed in at three hundred pounds) he had to bend down slightly to reach her. Even though his eyes were hidden underneath those large glasses, Rouge still felt the smile was genuine. The sleaziness and arrogance that built itself in senior officers was not present here. "Commander had a lot of praise for you."

"Nice to meet you too, sugar" she said, "mind tellin' me what I'm doin here now?"

She looked at Redfreid carefully, searching for these famed robotic implants. But he appeared completely normal.

"As far as I can tell the Commander wants somebody he knows can keep a straight head – I had to move a talented soldier off my team for you, so you better be worth it."

"Are you about to give me a reason to lose my head?"

"If all goes right, we're going to intercept one of the anthrohumans that attacked in Hill Top this morning."  
"He's an anthrohuman now?" said Rouge.

Redfreid shrugged, "Well he ain't human."

Rouge had to hold back an irritated expression.

"He stowed away in a flight heading to downtown Empire City, it's two hours to drive so we're taking a chopper there."

"And you can't just ground the flight? Hijacked?"

"No, the pilots are aware he's there but have made clear they have no intention on letting him know that." Redfreid took a bulky tablet from under his arm and handed it to her. "This will explain it better."

Rouge glared to warn him she did not appreciate her time being wasted, then turned on the device. A video prompted her to play it.

She was met with a wonky, fuzzy picture. A helmet-cam. At crouching level, the human crept forward past barbed wire half-buried in snow.

Her eyes flicked to Redfreid. "This is from Hill Top?"

Redfreid's huge boots made heavy footfalls on the concrete, and his strides were four times the size of Rouge's. She had to fly to keep up. Warehouses and large trucks passed by them, some of them full of armed soldiers, but Rouge barely noticed them. She kept her eyes fixed on the screen.

The soldier crept forward, two female soldiers in front of him. They held their weapons poised, their faces completely concealed by specialised snow goggles.

Rouge flinched back from the screen as from somewhere off screen a heavy object smashed into the leader, flinging her away into the snow. The remaining two swung left and opened fire. Rouge flicked pause as soon as the soldier's cam glimpsed the perpetrator. His skin or fur was white, so he camouflaged inconveniently well. Blue, luminescent gas emanated off his faint silhouette.

"That would most definitely upset me if I was flying first class San Peinot to Empire City. Which one is this?"

"'Scuse me, ma'am?"

"The Commander informed me himself there were two at Hill Top, one was a white hedgehog. There was no description of the second. Is this him?"

"Sorry. Guess that's where my security clearance ended."  
Rouge looked at the image again. Sure, the fur or skin colour appeared to be white, but as far as she knew even the most interesting hedgehogs she had met did not sweat blue light.

"The Commander wouldn't let U.F military handle this?" asked Rouge, "He sent Major Redfreid and his troupe or deranged cyborgs?"

He didn't hide his amusement. "You don't like cyborgs, huh?"

"I just thought that GUN thought they belonged in the third world."

"Ours aren't like that, we don't glue old Robotnik machines to ourselves."  
They had met their destination. Redfrield called loudly, "Alright!"

They had reached the chopper, basically a large, blocky chopper with two massive MagnoThermal rings where propellers should have been. The inside was lined with harnesses and seats on either side, the cockpit seated three. Around the aircraft were GUN soldiers, only one anthrohuman, a tall, heavy-set leopard. Redfreid's white-skinned clone, or so he appeared, seemed to be comparing armour with a sturdy woman with fiery-red hair. A smaller man, the smallest of the lot, inspected the craft. His gait was timid, but their was a meticulousness in the way he gazed at the helicopter. The final man seemed too young to Rouge, not a day over eighteen, but that was ridiculous, Redfreid's squad was meant to renowned for their experience. His sandy hair stuck up at odd angles.

She was stumped to realise she could not see evidence of cybernetics in any of them.

"Time to move out! We're leaving in five and I want it in three."

The leopard watched with longing as his teammates stomped on board.

"I know him," said Rouge suddenly, "Nuka?"

"Hope you're worth it, lady," he said gruffly, storming past them. His thick grey fur was damp with sweat from the unnecessary uniform.

"Your boss seemed to think so," replied Rouge with a suddenly delicious smile, "I'll let him know we bumped into one another."

The leopard's eyes narrowed, but he was unsure. He marched off without another word.

"You seriously gonna complain to the CO about that?" asked Redfreid, "'Cause I don't need the paperwork."  
"Nuka knows what I meant," Rouge sassed. She scanned the team again with meticulous eyes, searching for any information to use to her advantage. Quite comfortable with the situation, she purred, "By the way, who is the CO?"

"Her."

Redfreid nodded to a woman with the straightest back Rouge had ever seen. She stood about thirty feet away, speaking fast to some faceless man beside her. A glittering array of medals covered her breast like a metal plate.

"Ah, Gekidoku," commented Rouge, she gave an inch of a smile.

"Yeah. Between you and me, I know she's got a stick up her backside but she a right side better than Gungrave."

"You used to work under him?"

"He used to have control of my entire squad. After what happened in Hill Top, he personally wants control of the investigation."  
"The other half of the investigation, obviously?"  
"Yeah. If I'm lucky, he'll stumble on that Egg Carrier."

Rouge chuckled. "If it makes you feel any better, your problems with bosses can't be half as bad as mine."

"Nickel, just wait!" yelled Sonic. He had slightly underestimated the hedgehog; he was far more agile than he had originally thought. Nickel, using his psychokinesis, flitted through the trees quickly and fluidly, managing to keep a constant distance from Sonic.

Sonic didn't know where Shadow had gone – he had lost him, but he knew better than to think that the hedgehog would just give up the chase. Neither did he know where Tails and the others were, but they could take care of themselves. His only worry was that they might run into Shadow – he probably wouldn't _hurt _them, especially not Cream or Tails, but he didn't want Knuckles to try something stupid. Shadow would not have any qualms about knocking back someone his own size. And Amy had proven herself fair game before.

He suddenly reprimanded himself, _'Hark at me, I'm worrying over the Knucklehead and _her_ – better focus.' _

He turned every ounce of his attention to the white and blue blur ahead, not twenty feet away. Like a blue flame, the psychokinetic energy burned strong behind Nickel, except instead of the searing heat one might expect, Sonic could feel the residue like freezing gas as he kept in Nickel's slipstream.

They reached the base of a cliff about thirty feet high. The rocky cliffs here rimmed about a third of Angel Island. The trees were thinner here, only the odd one amongst the tough shrubs, and now Sonic had the advantage.

He revved his feet, surging forwards with the burning energy.

Nickel knew this, and didn't even have time to check Sonic's progress before the spiky blue blur was upon him. Sonic hooked his arms under Nickels, trapping them. He threw both feet out in a braking manoeuvre, but Nickel managed to wiggle and use his psychokinesis to displace Sonic, and send them both crashing to the ground.

If quills are good for one thing it's for skidding. Sonic caught the sandy earth on his back, and, not letting go of Nickel, directed their insane crash as smoothly as he could.

They skidded to a halt not a foot from a thickset rock formation. The dust around them, disturbed, swirled above their heads, turning the world orange.

"Nickel, enough!" Sonic yelled, holding the white hedgehog to the ground as he struggled to get free. Sonic guessed as long as Nickel couldn't get his palms to face him then Sonic could not be affected by his psychokinesis.

"What are you going to do?" cried Nickel, still trying to get his arms free, "stop me from leaving?"

Sonic let Nickel go, taking a few steps back, but he didn't apologise.

"Right, this is ridiculous, what's so bad that you're trying to throw yourself off the island!" said Sonic.

Nickel rose to his feet, jaw and fists clenched, "You don't have the right to tell me what to do! If it wasn't for you, I'd still have my emerald!"

"If you want to leave go right ahead, but you don't need to go it alone. You'll have a much better chance of doing whatever it is you need to do if you come with us."

"And you, Sonic, will have no chance at all if you do not come with me."

Walking out off the scrub in front of them; was Shadow; one Chaos spear pointed directly at them.

Sonic sighed exasperatedly, and spread his arms wide in a mock bow at the approaching hedgehog. His unnatural red streaks were as vibrant as his fur was black.

Raising a gloved fist, the blue orb on the back of his palm glowing angrily, Nickel yelled: "Who the heck are you?"

Sonic winced; good question, wrong way to state it; especially to Shadow.

Shadow turned the aim of his spear on Nickel instead, growling: "I could ask you the same..." but he trailed off.

"White hedgehog..." he murmured. Something seemed to flicker in Shadow's face.

Sonic had a bad feeling.

Shadow's red eyes flicked from Nickel, to Sonic, and back to Nickel again, before amping the power in his spear, angrily. It burst from a simmering orange to gold-white light, now roaring dully.

"How did you get here from Hill Top so fast?" he said angrily to Nickel.

"What are you?" –

Shadow barked, "You're under arrest, put your arms on the ground!"

Nickel's resolve had wavered, the anger emanating of Shadow tapping all the right nerves to turn a person into a shaky mess, "What are you talking about?" His eyes flicked to Sonic. "Arrest!?"

"Whoa, let's all just calm down," cried Sonic, jumping between them. He pushed Nickel roughly behind him, facing off against the angry, dark coloured hedgehog in front of him.

"Get out of my way," growled Shadow, leaning forward as he began to skate towards them.


	9. Chapter 8 - A Drama of Eggic Proportions

10

The Mystery Emerges

A Drama of Eggic Proportions

5:40pm

_Weapons set to standby..._

_Robot versions 7.3 to 9.8 set to standby..._

_Rear engines set to eighty-percent..._

_Primary vector on course..._

_Emergency escape pods… locked._

_Awaiting your orders, Doctor..._

The cool female voice that personalised Dr Robotnik's specialised jet cut off. He lovingly called it, 'The Egg Falcon', indicating its lethalness and speed. The Doctor himself sat languidly in his large red leather captain's chair, raised on a platform surrounded by equipment of his own design.

A long red joystick was raised from the semi-circular, a glittering and bleeping dashboard before him.

"Well then," he grinned, "let's get down to business."

"Shadow, just listen to me!" – but with a frustrated sigh, Sonic was forced to jump out of danger's path as Shadow steamrolled towards them in a perfect replica of Sonic's spindash technique. What on Mobius did Shadow think Nickel had done?

It was nearing the end of the day. Angel Island's daylight was already shortened due to the horizon being higher and closer, but what little light there had been had long since faded from a leisurely orange to dusk-purple. Only the clouds above them revealed that the sun had not yet completely set.

While Sonic had dodged to the left to gain the high ground upon a mossy tree, Nickel had jumped back, unwisely backing himself up against the rocky cliff-face. Shadow skidded to a stop, veering around, and began to advance on Nickel.

Sonic saw all of Nickel's confidence melt away – and who could blame him? Shadow's sharp features were contorted in the fury that fed his Chaos Control.

Nickel was backed into the cliff with nowhere to run, and Shadow was fast approaching, raising his free palm in preparation for another Chaos skill. Sonic got in the middle of it all.

A billow of dust, and he whipped between them and stood side on, with one gloved hand facing Nickel and the other Shadow. He was not afraid of Shadow – not really – and he certainly wasn't going to let this escalate any further.

"Cool it!" he shouted, looking more at Shadow than Nickel. "Nickel didn't come from Hill Top; he arrived in Green Hill Zone."  
At least it registered. Shadow rolled his eyes and lowered his spears slightly, ready to talk.

More confident, Sonic continued, "He's lost his memory; we're tryin' to get it back"-

But no sooner had he finished, had something freezing and unbreakable seized him around the middle, throwing him into Shadow. With a crash they collided and went sprawling to the ground in a tangle of arms, legs and quills that painfully stung.

"Get off me!"

"Nickel, RUN!"

The world spun for Sonic as he was tossed from Shadow like a rag doll. Nickel leapt into the air and rocketed away. He did not look back.

Sonic took only a millisecond to check Nickel was on the breakaway before dashing back into the rainforest, not intent on being fried by a Chaos spear.

Sonic felt sure Shadow was following, but he didn't know – that was the terrifying part, the fact that sent adrenaline bounding into his bloodstream. He accelerated, going too fast to risk looking back to check his pursuers progress. But he knew what was about to happen.

Shadow was settling this, one way or the other.

Knuckles, Tails, Amy and Cream ran and jumped through the thick rainforest, using the native mushrooms and even some of the wildlife to propel themselves further and higher.

"Ugh, where did they go!?" yelled Knuckles. "They're gonna wreck my island!"

"Forget your island! What if Shadow hurts Sonic or Nickel?!" cried Amy.

"Don't worry," said Tails confidently, "they'll be around here, they can't be too hard to spot..."

"Won't matter if Shadow's tossed Sonic off the island," Amy wailed.

"Shadows got a temper, but he's not out of control." said Tails logically, "I'm sure we can reason with him."

"Shadow's not completely out of control," agreed Knuckles, "he's not who I'm worried about."

Then, completely out of the blue but totally on cue, flew Sonic. Landing on his head he bounced once, before coming to a stop spines up and face in the dirt.

He groaned, propping himself up on his elbows and knees, still face down.

"Where on Mobius did you come from!?" exclaimed Tails, looking from Sonic to the patch of rainforest he had spectacularly appeared from.

"Get down!" Sonic hissed, having spotted something through a dense series of ferns in front of them.

Sonic grabbed the closest, Tails and Knuckles, and pulled them to the ground to be concealed by a muddy ridge and the wild undergrowth. The fresh smell of the rainforest was strongest this close to the damp soil, and they were all immediately covered in the black loam. Amy and Cream followed suit, and quickly crawled to lay beside them – Amy only stopping to give the front of her dirtied pink dress a quick look of disgust.

"Are you okay, Mr. Sonic?" asked Cream – she was so calm she could have been asking about something trivial, like homework or the weather.

"Well, there's been a minor setback..." Sonic nodded in the direction he had not-so-randomly fallen in from, indicating a slowly approaching Shadow the Hedgehog, each palm clutching dwindling Chaos spears – but Sonic was not fooled, those Chaos skills could be refuelled and cast for devastating results in the blink of an eye.

Cream and Amy each gave a small gasp.

"'Minor setback', you say?" asked Tails, weakly.

"We can take him!" growled Amy.

"I'm not so sure," whispered Tails worriedly. "Sometimes even Sonic can't beat him, and that's when he's fighting fit!"

"Whaddya mean 'even Sonic'?" inquired Knuckles angrily.

"_When_ he's fighting fit?" asked Sonic, eyebrows raised.

"You've just come off a fight with Metal Sonic!" hissed Tails, "If I believe half of what you told me you're not supposed to be in any condition for a fight. Shadow's not somebody can we can risk underestimating!"

"Ok fine, surely we can just _talk _to him." suggested Tails. He was met with glares of alarm from four pairs of eyes.

Shadow was too close now; with his advanced hearing he would hear even a whisper.

"The plan?" mouthed Knuckles to Tails.

"Lets just… try and calm him down."

Shadow was becoming irritated, and Sonic flinched from his concealed hiding place as Shadow flung both spears to the ground, where they erupted like cherry bombs.

Shadow had three particularly potent Chaos attacks: Chaos Spear, Chaos Blast, and Chaos Snap. But his arsenal of attacks spread even further; with (and sometimes without, though it cost him far more energy) a Chaos Emerald he could initiate Chaos Control, his trademark move, momentarily stopping and controlling time and space. Chaos Boost kicked in either automatically or if Shadow allowed it, depending on how battle-hungry he became. It was dangerous both for those around him and for Shadow himself, he had to remove both Inhibitor rings first, but if he let it continue on too long he risked killing himself through exhaustion. If he lost his Inhibitor Rings he would continue to bleed out Chaos energy, which was as important to Shadow as blood. Shadow was arguably the greatest destructive force on the planet short of an Atom Bomb.

The difference being one was outlawed, and one was employed by GUN.

"Nice fireworks. Can you do Christmas Wheels, too?"  
Sonic leant against the tree as if he hadn't a care in the world, arms folded and weight on one side.

Tails stepped out of the other side on the heels of Sonic's words.

"No, Shadow, we're not here to fight" –

Shadow ignored Tails as if he was not there.

"I want answers." snarled Shadow, wheeling around, "Why did Robotnik start a fight on U.F soil? What is the electro-magnetic pulse and who is the kid?"

Sonic remained silent, a mocking sneer saying it all. He suddenly didn't feel like sticking to procedure. Should he stick to the plan?

"Why do you refuse to tell me!?"

"Sonic, don't" – started Tails.

"I dunno, maybe 'cause it's none of your business, and I doubt you have enough self-control to calm down anyway."

From their hiding place, Knuckles and Amy slapped their palms to their foreheads.

Tails, disbelieving, cried, "Sonic, we want to calm him down, not make him mad!"

"Agh, he can take a joke – whoa!"

Shadow was already charging. Pulling back his elbow, Shadow twisted and threw it into the space where a moment before Sonic had been. He didn't feel an ounce of pain when his elbow collided with the tree; instead he just swung around for another charge at the blue hedgehog, now standing where Shadow had started.

Tails wisely ducked and covered.

"See if it's not my business when you're face down, spines up and hurting!"

Far from worried at what he had caused, Sonic welcomed the challenge.

Pulling back his arm again Shadow launched a punch followed by a sweeping kick.

Shadow tackled, Sonic dodged; retaliated with a sharp and tight high kick; Shadow dodged; retaliated, hit nothing but air. Sonic launched his infamous axe kick from the power built up in the previous attack at Shadow, the muddy ground below him erupting as if a small meteor had hit it when he missed. Using the opening for a heavy duty sucker punch, Shadow struck Sonic in the centre of the chest, staggering him. Sonic, trying to recover, counter-attacked a millisecond too slow.

Side-stepping, Shadow caught the back-punch and hurled Sonic as hard as he could to his left.

Out of control, Sonic spun out of control as he barraged through soil and brush. He rolled twice once he had crashed to the ground, then immediately regained his footing and skidded to a halt. He was panting, yet Shadow had barely broken a sweat.

"And they call _you _fastest thing alive…" sneered Shadow, but the moment of gloating cost him as Sonic retaliated with an almighty punch to the jaw. Shadow didn't even allow himself a second to back away, instead lashing out with an elbow, striking Sonic painfully on the neck and driving space between them.

That definitely wasn't the plan.

"You're still too slow!"

Shadow pushed the oncoming fist away with his forearm, and a single uppercut had Sonic back on the ground; dazed.

A crack, loud and sharp as a gunshot from outside the cramped clearing. Shadow's smile dropped as he remembered that Tails, Knuckles, Amy and Cream were still on the island. Sonic couldn't help it; he smiled at the sight of Shadow so suddenly on his guard at the thought of a group that included Cream the Rabbit.

"Even you aren't that stupid Sonic. Smiling is really not the best idea at present."

Sonic remained silent, but that glint in his eye intensified. Like sparks flying off a flint, each held the others gaze, one red; threatening and aggressive, the other green; mocking and confident.

Knuckles flew out while Shadow was distracted.

But Shadow was far too fast – yet Knuckles was only the distraction.

As Shadow kicked Knuckles away he noticed a very large hammer was hurtling towards his head.

A sickening crack, and Shadow tumbled to the ground like a sack of potatoes

"And that'll teach you!" shouted Amy, waving her fist at the downed and unconscious hedgehog. But Sonic was way off the mark if he thought Amy was only referring to his opponent, "You idiot, Sonic!"

She advanced on him, and Sonic could only cower and cover his face with his arm as Amy started raining slaps and swinging her Piko-Piko hammer upon him. It would have been her summoning it from hammer-space that had caused the gunshot-like crack seconds before.

"You! Could! Have! Been! Killed!"

"Amy – Amy, stop!"

Knuckles gave a low whistle, getting to his feet, "Remind me never to get on the wrong side of you."

She only laughed merrily as the barrage continued. Tails, and Cream then appeared, jumping down from an overhanging branch. Cream's eyes were wide with awe from the fast-paced battle, and it was only her who had the courage to drag Amy away before she caved in Sonic's skull.

"It's only lucky Shadow didn't spear you there and then," snapped Amy, and Sonic quailed, "What in the name of Eggman's fluffy 'stache were you thinking?"

"I didn't think he'd attack _right _away," lied Sonic, shrugging.  
"What a _stupid _fight to pick! How ridiculous!"

Tails went to inspect Shadow as Amy railed on, closely followed by Cream.

"I think he'll be ok," said Tails, satisfied. "Good job not holding back, Amy, we've seen Shadow shrug off semis."

"Even for you, that was stupid, why couldn't you just stick to the plan?" asked Knuckles, giving Sonic a light punch on the shoulder, but Sonic could tell he was impressed, which only bolstered Sonic's ego.

Sonic said, "Ah c'mon, it's _Shadow _– apart from the angst he's basically harmless."

Everybody ignored this.

Cream said, "But I do hope Mr Shadow will be okay, I'm sure he would never have seriously _hurt_ Sonic or Nickel."

The name caused a heavy silence to settle amongst the company like a wet fog. Amy stopped glaring at Sonic as if in an attempt to set him on fire as her eyes doused with regret.

Knuckles said, "So, what happened to Nickel? Tell me Shadow didn't get to him first."

Sonic took a moment to answer, then gave them a quick rundown of what had occurred during the frantic sprint through the rainforest.

Was Nickel's fear and confusion clouding his better judgement? Or was this really all his fault?

It was only at very few points in Sonic's life where he had actually felt trickles of doubt, and he refused to make this one of them.

He remembered the desperation in Nickel's voice, and his wish: _"Just leave me alone!"_

"We've gotta find him," said Sonic.

"If he hasn't hurled himself of the island." said Amy, "Can he land from high heights?"

Sonic had no idea – but no law of psychokinesis that he had observed said otherwise.

"Then we better get going," said Tails energetically.

A rush of blue wind, and Sonic hurtled to the lead.

Nickel had been flying full speed for what felt like an hour, but in actual fact it had not even been a quarter of that yet. It felt like such an extraordinary length of time to Nickel because of the masses of thoughts, images and worries rampaging around his brain, causing every second to feel ten times the length. He was so _useless_ just flying around here; he had to get off the island. But then what? He had so much to do and no idea where to start. Darkness had all but fallen over Angel Island, but no thoughts of rest made it past the mass of swirling anxieties already clouding his mind.

He touched to the ground, stumbling and falling as he did.

"Okay, okay," he whispered to himself, trying to ignore the fact that his eyes were now wet, "I need to find my emerald. I don't know where it could be. Okay, I need to find my brother... I don't know where he is either. I need to get back home, ugh; I can't do that without the emerald! I don't even know how I managed to get here in the first place!"

His voice had risen to a whine. His throat felt constricted and his breath sharp and ragged.

He could not remember ever feeling so alone. He needed help.

"Ahem." coughed a voice from behind, "Excuse me, but are you quite alright, young man?"

Nickel immediately jumped to his feet and spun around.

The man looked mad at the very least; a bushy and awry moustache covered most of his bloated face and a pair of round, blue reflective glasses completely concealed his eyes, which Nickel imagined were small and beady. The man wore a red and black suit that only seemed to make more obvious the fact that he looked horribly like an oversized egg. His exaggerated bulges were sickeningly cartoonish.

Nickel raised a gloved hand, the blue orb on the back suddenly glowing angrily; he had guessed who it was.

"Oh no need to feel afraid my dear boy!" cried Robotnik, waving his hands frantically. "You looked hurt; I was simply coming down to investigate."

"Why should I believe anything _you _say?! The second I arrive here you were happy and willing to lock me up and do worse to Sonic!"

"My boy, a little scrap of... revelation, I have stumbled across during my lengthy time in this world," Robotnik stepped closer, and Nickel had to resist backing away. Robotnik leant in, and said, puncturing every word with a waggling finger, "Things are never as they appear. Do you truly know, for example, who 'Team Sonic' are?"

"They're... Sonic and Tails and Knuckles, and, well, they're..."

Eggman cocked an eyebrow.

"Well they're twice as good and then some more honourable than you!"

Robotnik scoffed, "Youth – you never listen. Sonic the Hedgehog is not all the ideals, group-hugs and freedom he appears, the truth is quite something else."

Nickel faltered, then cried, "That's a lie! You… you were trying to steal my emerald!"

"This?"

From a series of metal capsules Nickel had not noticed until then strapped to the Doctor's back, a strange, humming noise was emitted. Then, the metal top of one unscrewed, not unlike that of a thermos. The Doctor placed a hand above the capsule, and shot up into it flew the reason Nickel was even here in the first place.

Nickel gasped, "That's... that's..."

He faltered again as the Doctor did the last thing he expected, and lowered the Rainbow emerald to him, holding it point-up in one large, gloved hand.

"I chased Sonic to Empire City because it was there he would rendezvous with a GUN unit, passing the Rainbow emerald to their custody. But, I snatched it from him at the last moment. He didn't _lose _the emerald like he's no doubt told you, he had it _taken _from him. Having to return empty handed, I knew the story he would spin. I've been following you since then, trying to find a time to intervene when Sonic wasn't there. He can be very persuasive when he wants to be..."

Nickel tried to answer this, but no words would come. Tentatively, he reached out for his emerald. When he was certain Robotnik was not going to snatch it back, he carefully took it with both hands, both happy and frightened he had found it once more.

The moment Nickel touched the gem, Robotnik noticed, it seemed to glow brighter, and its shine became more pronounced. The Doctor filed this information away in his incredible mind for later probing.

Nickel was quiet for a moment, and then lowered his hands, but clutched the emerald tightly.

"Who _are_ you?"

Robotnik seemed to regain some enthusiasm.

"My name is Dr Ivo Robotnik – beyond a doubt the greatest mind on the planet. I don't suppose you are familiar with the Great War...?"

"I am!" said Nickel, finding new reason to mistrust this man as vague memories of makeshift history lessons trickled back. Puffing out his chest, he spat, "You invaded half the world, and tried to roboticise all of it! Millions of people lost their" –

"Ey, ey ,ey, are you sure you are thinking of the right war, my boy?"

"I know who"-

"Look, we don't have time for this," snapped Robotnik, blue spectacles flashing dangerously, "Sonic _is _the military's puppet figure. They brought you here so they'd be able to learn some information about the technology you posses without having to resort to... distasteful measures."

Nickel frowned. "Technology? What technology?"

"Your gloves." Robotnik explained, indicating his hands.

Nickel looked down at the white gloves – completely ordinary, save for the circular, pulsating circle of energy atop his palm, and the cyan lines leading to the golden cuff.

Nickel felt sick to his stomach. Robotnik's story made sense – as amazing as Sonic was it was easy to perceive a certain... cruelty in him. Something not right. He didn't act like normal people, he acted without thinking, seemingly without regret. He remembered the chase through the trees, how he had hurtled off that cliff just to gain a few metres. Nickel imagined Sonic, all seven emeralds collected, running rampant in the Super-state. He would make a valuable weapon, enough so for a military, easily. And with Nickel's psychokinesis... would he be unstoppable?

"And... w-what about that black hedgehog? Is he with you?"

"Different military, same problem. I advise against getting within more than a hundred feet of him."

This all felt too much. Nickel no longer knew whom to believe.

As if sensing the small hedgehog was now walking a blades edge, Robotnik lowered to one knee so that they were more eye-level, adopting a facial expression he probably assumed was sombre and fatherly.

"I know this must be hard for you, my dear lad, but you must believe me. Go with Sonic and he'll have you turned over to the military within days – what they will do to you down in their labs I can't even bear to think about."

Nickel thought the Doctor sounded sincere, but still didn't lower his guard.

"It's not that simple," said Nickel, still clutching his glowing emerald, "Doctor, Sir, I've made a real mess of things... the only one I can think of who might be able to help is my brother, he'd know what to do..."

If Nickel had been paying close attention, he may have noticed a twinkle of a smile flash at the corner of Robotnik's mouth as he went in for the overkill.

"Many hours ago there was a momentous energy surge in Hill Top Zone," said Robotnik, "It was similar to the one in which you arrived from. From it, in circumstances similar if not identical to your own, a white hedgehog materialised from it."

Nickels heart fluttered.

"That could be... I bet it is! I don't know how he did it, but I'd bet the last Kinetic-loom that it's him!"

"Then we are wasting time" said Robotnik, rising to his feet, "And I do believe the MagnoThermals have finished recharging, conveniently..."

A great rumbling seemed to descend upon them. The branches of trees blew wildly and the smaller shrubs were all but flattened against the ground. Red stars appeared in the dark sky, or that's what Nickel thought they were at first. The raging wind and its roar seem to increase ten-fold, and all at once the hundreds of red lights lining its hull ignited, revealing the large airship the size of ten basketball courts. It had just enough room to land, and what trees got in its way were crushed by its iron hull.

A door hissed and flung open near the cockpit.

Robotnik wasted no time and began strutting for his exit.

Halfway there, Robotnik shouted: "Well, are you coming?"

Nickel still had not moved.

He saw himself going with Robotnik, and within days being reunited with his brother. After that, everything would be all right, no question about it...

But it was much easier thought than done. What if this was wrong? Robotnik didn't sound like he was lying, but there were too many variables, too many for him to consider.

Robotnik stopped briskly trotting off to his giant Egg-Carrier, and turned on the spot to see if Nickel was following, His blue spectacles surveyed him coolly.

Taking a deep breath, and holding the emerald like a child would hold their mothers hand, Nickel took a singe step forward.

"NICKEL!"

His heart leapt, he knew that voice! It was surely impossible... he spun on his heel, in less than a second forgetting every worry and anxiety he had.

A dark silhouette was emerging from the shadows, yes, it had to be him!

"Brother!" cried Nickel. He could hardly believe it, but that had to be him!

Nickel jumped forward, his vision blurring as he charged towards the silhouette.


	10. Chapter 9 - Nickel's Decision

13

Course of Collision!

Nickel's Decision

Evening, Saturday.

"Brother!" cried Nickel. He could hardly believe it, but that had to be him!

But when the silhouette entered into the light the shining beam of hope that had filled Nickel was shut off as if by a cold black curtain loosed from its rope.

It wasn't his brother.

Nickel immediately drove his feet into the ground, braking. He fell onto his back and slid the remaining two metres to come to a rest at the sneakers of none other than Sonic the Hedgehog.

He should have known. Breathing hard, he couldn't seem to tear his gaze away, he couldn't even move.

Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy and Cream all stood in a line, looking either down on Nickel or up at the air-ship with the same concerned look. However, seeing as Nickel appeared uninjured, Sonic soon shifted his gaze to instead glare at Robotnik.

"Nickel," started Tails, kneeling down and offering a helping hand.

Knuckles managed to drag Tails out of harms way just in time. Nickel kicked out with his boots, sending a wave of energy that propelled him back towards Robotnik. Nickel back-flipped in mid air, landing in front of Robotnik.

None were harmed by the attack, but all of their patience was running thin.

"Nickel, you monster!" yelled Amy, taking a step forward and making Knuckles and Tails duck as she brandished her Piko Piko hammer dangerously.

Sonic laughed mirthlessly, "Sorry, Nickel, I must be missing something. The way you just tried to decapitate Tails makes me think you're giving us the dump."

"This is _my_ choice Sonic!" shouted Nickel, "You listen to me"-

"No, you listen to me!_"_ cut in Sonic, taking a step forward, "Eggman's a third-rate crook! Whatever he's promised you is as fake as he is! "

"Ouch, deep cuts, Sonic," commented Robotnik, eyebrows raised, "Tough words for someone with an entire military backing them up!"

"Seriously? You could have come up with something a little more original than _that_."

"He told me everything! That you're from the military, _everything!_" Nickel snarled. Sonic exaggeratedly shook his head.

"Nickel, please!" said Tails, taking a few steps closer, "We aren't from the military," he took a few more steps, but Nickel just bristled in response, "I know you're confused, and scared"-

"I'm _not_ scared!"-

"Just please Nickel, _don't do this. _Sonic's telling the truth, he can help you."

Tails went half a step further; he was now closer to Robotnik (still standing languidly in front of his weapon-riddled aircraft) and Nickel than he was to Sonic.

"Not another step, Tails!" warned Nickel, again raising a palm.

His mind was set.

Tails, of course, would not let his friend do this, and with a determined mind of his own continued to advance.

But halted mid-step, when a gloved hand from behind gripped him on the shoulder.

It was Sonic. Catching Tails' eye, the blue hedgehog glanced up and to the right, and Tails was startled to see artillery and a horde of silver robots dotted over the side of the Robotnik craft, gun barrels pointing directly at them. When had they arrived?

"Wise move, pincushion," said Robotnik smugly, "my, things have not been going well for you."

The robots launched forwards, and within second Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy and Cream found themselves surrounded by a tight wall of metal, back-to-back and facing the dozen black orifices of the cannon-like weapons built into each lanky robots' right arm.

"Goodbye, Hedgehog!"

"Yeah, that'll be the day. Hey, Amy?"

Sonic tilted his head back so he could just see the pink hedgehog he was back-to-back with. "Betcha lunch I can dislocate more shoulders than you can."

At the same time, all robots suddenly adopted the same pose, their cannon-like weapons aimed at the five anthrohumans barely eight feet away.

"Everybody up!" shouted Sonic, he and Knuckles taking Tails' hands as the twin-tailed fox lifted up. Less than a second later, Amy and Cream had joined them, Cream's huge ears flapping madly.

Below, the ground left Sonic's feet at a rapid rate, shrinking in size. Comically, all robots fired at the same empty space at the same time – only succeeding in peppering _themselves _with a spray of bullets, causing ninety percent of them to stagger stupidly, a few dark holes smoking through sharp ridges in their midriffs.

Robotnik had long since found a way to mass-produce deadly hunks of metal in a cost-effective way. He still had not, however, worked out a generic, obedient but complex enough AI.

Beside Sonic, Knuckles and Tails, the two girls were struggling.

"Amy, your hammer!" shouted Tails.

"Just fly harder!" Amy yelled to Cream instead.

And, to Sonic's surprise, even Tails seemed to be having some trouble.

"Whoops, guess this isn't as easy as it was back in the day," said Sonic, "Everybody run for cover within the island, _I'm_ the only one fast enough to take this lot on!"

With that, Sonic let go. Over the wind, he thought he heard Knuckles yell, "That's right, it's always gotta be _you _running into certain doom!"

'_You get the idea he's ungrateful for that,' _thought Sonic briefly, just before the ground rushed up to meet him.

Of course, he was already in a Sonic Spin, cushioning the fall, bouncing once, then tearing forwards with enormous velocity, the soft rainforest earth spraying out behind him.

In a matter of milliseconds, he had his course vaguely plotted, and with an exhilarated shout that was lost in the wind he leant sideways in his spin, screaming toward the nearest flank of robots in a sharp curve.

There were dozens of them now. Sonic knew Robotnik was aware that given half the chance Sonic would get inside the aircraft. With the giant ship still powering up, Sonic would have all the time he needed to wreak untold havoc before the systems Robotnik needed to eradicate him came online.

Sonic leapt up into the air, not unfurling, and ploughed straight through four robot heads, ripping them off in screech of quills on metal. He rolled to a landing, finally unfurling and sliding for a moment, sharp eyes taking in the surrounding once more. Robotnik and Nickel were already half inside, and over a dozen robots were swarming over him.

Smiling so hard it was nearly a snarl, Sonic used his own momentum still carrying him backwards as he rolled back into a spindash to curve inside his path and rocket back the _other way_. Quicker than the robots were capable of computing, Sonic zipped through them all, feeling the satisfying heat of a robot or two, or ten, exploding as he hit them as a ferocious bullet.

He somersaulted after launching from the last robot, which, under his force, flew into the ground where several limbs shattered apart with the impact, and both sneakers landed soundly on the crumbly earth, hoping dearly Tails and the others weren't too far away to have missed _that_.

He charged forwards.

And just missed the door. It closed so quickly he nearly crushed his nose on it. Instead he bounced off it in a heavy spindash, crashing back, dazed.

With any luck Tails and the others _had _missed that one.

But then he had the chance. The plane was still within distance. He could make the leap. Once aboard, he would find a way. He could stop Robotnik. He could bring back Nickel.

But Nickel had not wanted to come back.

The ship rumbled, and Sonic was forced to scramble away as the heat of the engines warmed the air itself to a boil.

Sonic called, "Just remember, I don't think it matters!"

Sonic thought he could see a head of white quills looking down from the glass cockpit.

"Everyone accounted for?" yelled Tails as the wind whipped around them. They had landed, and were sprinting as hard as they could back the way they had come. Tails felt like they were making frustratingly slow progress through the dense forest.

Tails shook his head, and concentrated on the problem at hand – how much was Robotnik betting on getting rid of them_? _The way Tails saw it, once Sonic got Nickel and the Rainbow emerald back, Robotnik was going to fly into one of those desperate rages of his that just so happened to be his greatest strength and weakness. While it normally meant he was rolling downhill at terminal velocity, he would also try to bring down as much as he could on his descent, using any means possible. Already, against the purple, ominous dusk sky, Tails could just perceive lanky silhouettes flying in rigid formations, scanning the dense and confusing mess of rainforest below, searching for them. They'd just have to count on Angel Island's massive array of fauna (and some flora) to cloak the heat from their bodies.

While scrambling over a particularly tall root, and about to leap to one of the bouncy mushroom-tops he, Knuckles and Sonic could spend hours mucking around on, a sharp, high-pitched scream alerted him to a danger descending from above.

"Badniks, ten o'clock!" cried Knuckles. "How many did he bring?"

There were only three robots, in fact, but now that they had found them, so would the others. The clock was officially ticking.

The three robots that had found them were of an older generation of robots, and unlike their younger brother's, the lanky and thin E-Series, these were obtuse and clunky. Their heads were built into their broad, dull silver chests, some six feet off the ground and towering over Tails and the others. Their arms seemed disproportionally thin, and they looked like they would move slower than the E-Series.

"Fight or flight?" asked Tails, stepping in front of Cream, albeit a little nervously. None of them could ignore the deep humming filling the sky.

"Fight!" cried Amy, brandishing her hammer and starting starting forwards – just as a tornado of dust screamed past, not two feet in front of him.

Knuckles reeled back, arms raised to protect his eyes from sand. When he lowered them again, he saw all three robots were flailing on the ground like turtles, their legs reduced to sharp stumps half their size.

"Guys!" called Sonic, somehow now perched in a tree to their right, "We've gotta find some cover! There's hundreds of robots all over the place! Follow me, we can huddle down in the temples!"

"Hold on, where's Nickel?"

"Later, right now we really gotta move!"

"Wait – Sonic!" cried Knuckles, but Sonic never waited. He leapt down from the tree, and, with Tails, Amy and Cream in tow, sped off into the darkness.

The temples weren't too far – but Cream especially was going to slow them down, she was simply too small to be capable of the speeds that would have gotten Sonic, Knuckles and Tails there in minutes. And with Amy refusing to let go of her Piko-Piko hammer, her speed was also reduced.

"Sonic – wait!" yelled Knuckles again, this time closer, "We can't let him just" –

The world suddenly shook violently, accompanied by ear-shattering booms that could only mean one thing.

"He's bombing the island!" yelled Knuckles, outraged and frightened, but the latter not for himself.

"Angel Island was officially declared a neutral zone through historical and cultural significance on the first summit of the Tri-Alliance," yelled back Tails as Sonic took both him and Cream by the wrists and forcibly pulled them forwards. The ground was now shaking so hard it was like trying to walk through an earthquake. In the distance, orange glows were blossoming, and already the smell of smoke was descending. "This is breaking an international charter! Nobody's allowed to so much as look at the temples!"

"What are you, a lawyer?" said Sonic as if Tails were crazy, "This is Eggman we're talkin' about, just keep moving!"

"ARE YOU INSANE!?" yelled Knuckles, "SONIC, STOP!"

Grabbing his arm, Knuckles wrenched him back, "We have to stop him!" The orange glow of nearby conflagrations lit one side of his face.

"Knuckles, dude, I want to but _with what?_" Not even Tails can fly high enough to get whatever ship he's got now!"

Suddenly, something exploded close enough to knock them all off their feet. Sonic was slammed into the ground, losing sight of the others.

"Tails!"

"Sonic!"

Somebody helped haul him to his feet – it was Cream.

She squeaked, "I think we need to keep moving!"

"Seconded," said Sonic, shaking his head as if to clear it, "Guys!"

It seemed Tails had picked up the argument with Knuckles were Sonic had left off, but Knuckles' loyalty to the island was overriding logic.

"Knuckles there's _no way _to take him down, we're at too much of a disadvantage! The _Tornado's _over the other side of the island, it'll take a minute or more to get here!"

"So you're ready to just let him bomb my island into nothing!?"

"Where are we supposed to go!?"

"Okay, okay!" shouted Sonic, "Knuckles, there's not much we can do if he's already set on pummeling the island, but we can at least not give him any ideas. Tails – can you remotely call the _Tornado_?"

Tails nodded, and didn't ask nay further questions. Flipping open his wristwatch, he began sending his orders.

"Bring it to our co's," said Sonic, "we'll find cover, we'll move faster if we all hop aboard and lead the robots away from the temples!"

"Can we all fit aboard?" asked Amy, Sonic now taking her and Cream's hands and pulling them forwards. Sonic shrugged, "Guess we'll find out."

The situation had spun out of control – even Sonic had to admit it. It wasn't a secret that Robotnik was severely lacking in moral fiber – would his hate for Team Sonic drive him to destroy the last remaining remnants of Echidna civilization? And what would they have lost it for? A child's memory and a sparkling emerald they knew nothing about.

Sonic shook his head, and concentrated on leading the others through the rainforest, the sickly sweet smell of burning flora mingled with the acrid smell of smoke stinging their eyes and searing their throats.

The rumbling intensified, and Sonic snatched a glimpse of the sky through the canopy, flames now visible and leaping from tree to tree. The red lights lining the Egg Carrier slanted up, easily perceived against the starry night sky, indicating it was ascending.

They were getting close to the edge of the island – they were only lucky they had been on the outer rim when they had found Nickel and Robotnik. The rainforest was beginning to thin, the soil becoming thinner, the terrain slowly becoming more rocky.

"I can see fire!" cried Amy, her voice cracking with the strain of keeping up the blistering pace.

"Just keep running! Tails, where's the _Tornado_?"

"Inbound!"

"_How_ inbound!?" asked Sonic, letting his frustration slip through his voice. But, as he spoke, a more familiar, and very comforting drone fell from overhead. The _Tornado _swooped in, the tips of each of its four wings alight with green nodes, and a green trail of burning ring energy following behind it. It must have transformed mid-flight. It slowed to a halt about five feet off the ground, whining loudly with the effort of hovering for an extended period of time.

"Sonic, you know I only built this to carry three, right?" asked Tails, a little warily as he flew up to the cockpit, sliding himself behind the blue-tinted windshield.

"Well, this'll be an… emergency test run," said Sonic, giving Cream and then Knuckles a boost before clambering up himself – a little ungracefully.

"Jeez, Tails hold her steady," said Sonic irritatedly as the plane tilted and dipped "C'mon, Cream can't weigh _that _much."

"It's the balance, Knuckles, get in the middle of the plane!"

Knuckles huffed, and moved from his position on the wing to his normal one behind the turret, muttering, "I was just trying to make some room…"

Sonic slid down to a lower wing, and knelt down, hand outstretched for Amy.

Amy was about to take it, when Tails suddenly shouted, "NO!" and wrenched the plane hard up, nearly displacing Sonic, who slipped and found himself dangling in empty space, staring down at where Amy had been – except now she was no longer there.

He was about to shout what on Mobius that had been about, when he was nearly buffeted right off his already disfavoured hold on the _Tornado_ as two lanky E-Series robots whizzed underneath, dangerously close, dropping two small objects in their wake.

"Pulling up!" yelled Tails. They could hear the beeping of the bombs.

"No! We've gotta get A" –

Sonic's words were lost amidst the explosion that consumed everything beneath, searing his legs and rocking the _Tornado_.

"AMY!"

North of Central City

To Rouge the sounds of the helicopter were both irritating and painful. It had no blades, but at the speed they travelled the MagnoThermals emitted a low frequency sound gratingly painful to her sensitive ears.

She, Major Redfreid, and Mouse, the co-pilot, were stationed in the cockpit. Colonel Gekidoku had a permanent place in Redfreid's ear as a live wire. Rouge had little to do, and sat in a rear seat monitoring boring flight statistics. Now they were in the air the amount of soldiers on the chopper seemed unnecessary – typical GUN. Their answer to any threat remained 'overwhelming force'.

The passenger jet from Hill Top that contained their stowaway was not far now. To the west the east coast of the United Federation stretched. To the east the entire Atlantic swallowed the horizon. As Redfreid had explained, they had quite the radical plan for boarding the jet mid-flight. Rouge was looking forwards to the excitement – as a bat it was impossible to be nervous of freefalling.

In between relaying information to Gekidoku, Redfreid would converse with Mouse. Rouge eavesdropped passively, but one word drew her complete attention.

-"word is that Sonic took it out earlier this morning," said Mouse. Rouge's ears perked.

-"For real? What was left looked like whatever it ran into really did a number on it."

"I know. You saw it, too?"

"The Colonel sent me a shot," Redfreid confessed, "wanted to know if I knew anything that could have done that."

"And?"

"I don't know where you got your info, but no hedgehog could have done that."

"You know that's a lie," shot back Mouse. He continued, "It may have been before I was on this squad, but I have secure, genuine testimony from an official source that you fought alongside him in Spagonia."

"A – that's got nothing to do with what we're talking about, and B – whose secure, genuine testimony would that be?"

"Frenzy told me."

Redfreid barked a laugh. "Well she's quite a fan. Obviously so are you."

"All I'm saying is that kid is the worst kept secret on the world."

"No he's not," dismissed Redfreid, "he just moves too fast for the world to keep up with."

"Yeah, well that's changing," said Mouse, now sounding slightly pompous, "Web 2.0, social media, live streaming" –

Redfreid raised a hand for calm, "Hang on, I thought we were talking about this hunk of junk the tech-men dragged hundreds of miles to the city?"

Rouge cocked an eyebrow as she passively pretended to read her tablet of statistics. Was Redfreid being difficult?

"…Well, I am. I'm just saying sooner or later people are going to start to question" –

Mouse cut off, his attention diverted. He sat straighter in his seat. When he spoke, it was in a level drone, all thought of his previous conversation removed, "Flight UFA69 we have you on radar. Please remain on your flight path. Commencing operation. "

"Tell the team to get ready, we board in 120 seconds. Get us altitude, fifty feet above the target." ordered Redfreid. Rouge felt a tickle of relief – finally, she got to do something.

Redfreid was half out of his seat when the chopper's dash caught his attention again, "Wait, I'm picking up something on the radar," said Mouse, dropping his visor to quickly scan the infra-red and satellite radars, "comin' in fast, too."

"What is it?"

Mouse was quiet, his boyish face pinched with concern.

"Mouse!" demanded Redfreid.

"I don't know, sir – it's too small to be an aircraft."

Rouge raised an eyebrow. What was it then, a bird?

Redfreid was about to lower his anti-flash sunglasses, which Rouge had assumed were some sort of personalized HUD he had somehow wangled off the tech department, but stopped and stared out of the thick windscreen, his brow creasing with confusion.

"What the… that's…"

It was impossible, surely, but Rouge could see it too. Flying towards them was a glowing white-blue light, a trail of that same colour following behind it.

"Major, a visual." said Mouse.

A square hologram appeared on the windscreen. Angling from above towards them, literally flying in the face of gravity, was -

"That's… a hedgehog?" breathed Mouse. "He's actively altering his trajectory, falling straight to us!"

"_He_ looks like a man on a mission," commented Rouge, legs crossed and no more tense than if she were at a coffee shop. The fuzzy visual was of a white hedgehog. A blue light that seemed both liquid and gas swirled around it as it flew, arms spread, in their direction.

It was only in the dying seconds that Redfreid realised that the hedgehog wasn't going to veer off.

"Move!" he barked.

Both Mouse and Redfreid wrenched at the controls.

Too late.

Rouge braced for impact, but it never came. But a shield-like blue white energy suddenly cloaked half the helicopter.

"What happened" –

The helicopter jolted forwards.

"He's taken control!" yelped Mouse, "He's moving the chopper… no, he hasn't got control. He's just steering it. I can fight it, I can still use the controls!"

"Do it – what?" Redfreid seemed to recoil as a sharp voice snapped through the communicator in his ear.

"Right," he said slowly. He shrugged at Mouse, "Boss wants us to see where it goes."

"What?" croaked Mouse, "And if it dumps us in the sea?"

"Then keep the MagnoThermals warm so we can fly at a moments notice."  
"But what is it?" asked Mouse, his face darkened slightly, "Does she know?"

"She knows it's not local," interrupted Rouge. Smiling she said, "Relax, boys. You're lucky, every time a hedgehog with drastic abilities appears out of nowhere something interesting is never far behind." 

That hadn't just happened, it could not have.

"AMY!" Sonic yelled again, scanning the smoking rainforest below fervently. They were just ten feet off the ground, but rising fast. As Sonic looked around, he noticed something that put his search for Amy on temporary suspension.

Angel Island was burning.

They couldn't see the condition of the temples from this far out, but dozens of wildfires were raging across the entire island, plumes of smoke spiraling from their tips. The night sky above was tinged red, with easily perceptible red lights that indicated a group of robots, a cluster of them to the north surely the entourage for Robotnik's vessel. Sonic gulped – somehow they had managed to dodge all _that_.

"Sonic," called Tails from the cockpit, "hold on, I'm going to get Amy, she's okay! I saw her dodge before the robots came, it was that that told me" –

"Just get to it, Tails!" said Knuckles from the turret, "If they come back, I'll be ready for them!"

Sonic scrambled onto the wing, and held on tight as it dove back down, soaring only just above the thinning canopy. The edge of Angel Island was barely five hundred meters away.

"There!" cried Cream, pointing below. Sonic followed the direction of her finger, and saw Amy, sprinting as hard as she could, waving up at them, angry as a crocodile that had just had its dinner taken.

"Whoo boy, maybe we'll just leave her there…"

"Sonic!"

"I'm only kidding… but she rides on the opposite wing."

Tails swooped in lower, and was about to slow when more robots appeared from behind.

"Tails, keep mov – whoa!"

Tails was already on it, spinning the _Tornado _away. These kinds of crazy aerobatics were how the _Tornado _was meant to move – but not while overweight. As result, mid-spin it sluggishly dropped, nearly clipping a tree on its way.

"Tails!"

"This is crazy, I don't know what's wrong with it!" spat Tails, "She's all over the place!"

There was a series of THUMPS, and Sonic recognised the sound as the laser cannon – Knuckles was firing back. Purple-pink blasts of energy were being shot from the cannon.

"I'll keep them off, Tails," called Knuckles, "Just fly straight and get Amy aboard!"

Sonic couldn't see if Tails nodded, but assumed he had heard and acknowledged. As long as they kept moving, the robots were going to have a hard time getting close enough to loose an accurate shot. The only problem was the edge of Angel Island was now dangerously close, and they were still too high for Amy, her hammer now safely tucked away in hammer-space and still sprinting – but now she was lagging.

Tails matched Amy's speed, but then overtook her, speeding ahead.

"Lowering rope-ladder!" called Tails. Sonic felt the plane shudder, and then tug to starboard, presumably the rope falling to its full length.

The robots were now coming in thick and fast – far too many for Knuckles to handle.

If they stopped moving, the robots would overwhelm them. But if they didn't stop Amy would never catch them before they reached the island's edge and passed over into empty space.

Sonic, with horror, could foresee what was going to happen. Amy couldn't get the speed – she wasn't going to make it.

The _Tornado _passed the edge of the island – Knuckles and Cream gave a cry of dismay. There were at least six robots swooping in on Amyas well.

Then, five, then four…

Sonic frowned – something too fast to track was knocking the robots out of the sky as they gained on Amy. He realised who it was, who it could only be, a second before he darted out of the dark and into the light thrown by the remaining robots.

Shadow skated forwards. Sonic could see his intentions just from the determined look in his red eyes, and acted.

Desperate, Tails dangerously banked back towards the island. They could not leave Amy behind.

Amy crossed into the final five meters of plateau, not knowing Shadow was right behind her, and desperately readying herself for the leap of her life. Seeing that their time was being measured in milliseconds, Sonic let go of the _Tornado_, dropping through black space, yelling for Tails to stay as still as he could.

Shadow caught up to Amy in the same step each of them found the edge of the magnificent island, grabbing her around the middle and launching both of them out and into the gaping void, one hand outstretched for the ladder, which seemed an eternity away. The threat beneath them was mostly obscured by the encroaching night – but only mostly.

They were going to make it; they were going to make the impossible jump.

Then, reality intervened – but, Sonic was closely on its heels.

Just as it dawned on Shadow and Amy that they were not going to make it, that Shadow's hand was just going to brush the bottom of the ladder and nothing more – Sonic appeared, feet finding the lowest rung, one hand holding the side of the ladder, the other outstretched to Shadow's.

The moment seemed to last forever.

Then, finally, Shadow caught Sonic's arm, and Sonic Shadow's.

Time sped back to normal.

Sonic gave a yelp as the weight of Shadow, Amy _and _Amy's Piko-Piko Hammer yanked down on his arm, which he was sure was half-pulled from it's socket. The _Tornado _also felt the added weight, and banked dangerously to starboard – closer to the island and the oncoming robots.

Sonic tried to pull both up so they could reach the lowest rung, but it was all he could do just to keep a hold of Shadow's wrist and not lose his balance on the precarious ladder – and he was all too aware of the oncoming metal storm. The thumping of the discharged laser shots had not ceased at all, but Sonic had seen these robots go kamikaze before in desperation.

"Amy!" barked Shadow. Amy was hanging on for dear life with both arms around Shadow's neck. "Take the weight off Sonic! Climb up and into the plane!"

Amy, who had never been wonderful with heights, gave a little squeak of terror. She looked up, and Sonic gave her a small nod of encouragement.

"We won't let you fall," Sonic said in a tight voice – though if she did what exactly he was going to do about it he'd yet to think about, "Just be quick."

He shot a fervent look at the robots. They could only have seconds left.

Amy nodded herself, and quickly snatched at Sonic's arm above. He grunted at the strain, but didn't complain. Amy gave a small cry of fright as the _Tornado _tilted a little bit more with a sudden gust of wind, whipping her quills around her face. Sonic had no idea where she put all the strength, but, determined not to look down, Amy then swung a hand to the lowest rung, and hauled herself up completely on upper-body strength.

Sonic let out a sigh of relief as the weight lessened dramatically. Amy, now on the third rung and her boots finding the rope, shot him a wilting look.

"You were, er, v-very brave," said Sonic weakly. Her glare intensified for a moment, then she resumed climbing up the rope ladder. Sonic thought he heard Tails shout something, but here, unprotected by the island, the wind snatched his voice away into empty space.

Summoning as much strength as he could, Sonic pulled up as hard as he could, inching Shadow towards arms-reach of the ladder. Shadow added some of his own considerable strength, pulling himself up by the leverage of Sonic's arm. With one accurate swipe, he grabbed the bottom rung, and from there pulled himself up almost effortlessly.

"You made that look easy," said Sonic, which was as close as he was going to get to 'thanks for saving my friend'.

"Not over yet," said Shadow, looking at the robots.

Shadow raised a hand, palm facing the robots. As he did, ten broke free of the mob firing from a distance. Sonic realised what he was about to do, and scrambled up the ladder.

"Sweet Mauro - Tails, brace the plane!"

"Chaos!" called Shadow, breathing in deeply, "BLAST!"

An intense explosion of light and rumbling energy. The air itself seemed to blister and burn. The robots, with their relatively thin metal shells, had no chance. But Sonic didn't get to see what happened to them, having hid his face from the heat. It seemed to last an age, an unstoppable force of energy solidified into a single beam.

However, this was the last straw for the battered plane. With a loud 'crack!', the node on the bottom-left wing shattered, and puttered out.

The effect was immediate.

Sonic, Amy and a slightly stunned Shadow were almost slammed into the plane as it corkscrewed out of control, losing altitude rapidly and swinging to the massive, eroded side of the island.


	11. Chapter 10 - Adrenaline at High Altitude

13

Course of Collision

Adrenaline at High Altitude

Night

Tails brought the plane down to a smooth a tumble. He picked out a gigantic cave, though just a pock-mark in Angel Island's massive berth, suitable for landing. With a bit of quick braking, the _Tornado _was expertly navigated snugly into the cave to drop to an unceremonious but otherwise safe rest on its two lower wings and the rear wheel in a billow of dust and sound.

Sonic, feet dangling just a few inches above the ground, took a moment to process what had just happened, the silence of the others indicating they were doing the same, then let go. His sneakers found the dirt floor, and though a little shaky he was otherwise unharmed.

"Tell me again how we got out of _that _alive?" said Amy's voice, and a second later she dropped from above, but fell over when she touched down and ended up on her back beside Sonic, who laughed, then staggered back holding in a curse as Amy's boot, suspiciously hard, connected with his shin.

"If you're alive and breathing, raise your voice," said Tails triumphantly, "if you're hurt or dead I don't wanna know."

One by one they sounded off – everybody was accounted for. Almost.

"Where's Shadow?" asked Sonic, searching the large cave. It stretched back about fifteen feet before the lack of light and thick forest of stalactites obscured any further perceptions, and where the _Tornado _sat it was a comfortable, flat, twenty feet wide.

"Good, maybe he fell off when he almost blew us all up," said Knuckles.

"No… _umph_… such luck."

Clambering up over the edge of the cave was a familiar silhouette.

"Sonic, go help!" Amy exclaimed, when nobody moved.

"What? An hour ago he was trying to spear me!" said Sonic, raising both hands in surrender. But Shadow was already up. He seemed unsteady on his feet.

Under Amy's glare, Sonic relented. He still hissed under his breath, "I don't see any of you going to help the raging Chaos monster."

"I'm fine," said Shadow irritably as Sonic approached, waving him away. But as he took a step away from the wall he had used for support, he pitched forwards. Sonic hauled him back to his feet.

"Yeah, a beam with the concentrated power of an A-Bomb and then faceplanting into an earth wall is like a picnic for you, huh?"

Shadow made an irritated noise, but allowed Sonic to help him over to the nearest wall, where he was dropped a little roughly.

"Sonic!" said Amy, sharply, "he saved our lives, be gentle already!"

"Am I the only one who remembers him trying to kill me and Nickel?"

"I doubt he attacked for no reason, so don't be such a sore loser."

"But he did!" huffed Sonic, and he dug himself out of his burrowed hole by saying, "well, everybody got out alive – mainly thanks to Tails."

"Yeah, no way Shadow's laser-beam with a power of an A-bomb was a contributing factor," sniffed Amy, sarcastically.

Sonic kicked the ground with his heel and folded his arms.

"I didn't expect it to be that strong," said Shadow with a small frown. There was a small flash of light, and a cobalt blue Chaos emerald appeared in one hand.

"Is that" – began Tails.

"Fake," said Shadow, "next generation, however. This is just a prototype" –

"You couldn't even control the prototype?"

"Sonic!" growled Knuckles and Tails, impatiently. Sonic threw both hands up in surrender again, though his eyes glinted with mischief.

Knuckles was helping Tails and Cream off the plane, "Looks like we're in one of the old anti-chambers, if we keep going far back enough we should reach some stairs up to the island's surface."

"This place is an antechamber?" asked Sonic, looking at the dusty, musty old cave, unadorned but for nature's natural coat, with a critical eye.

"Yes, last time Angel Island fell it lost even more of its mass," said Knuckles. Sonic looked away under Knuckles' daring glare, and the echidna continued, "we should get to the surface, we need to check what condition the temples are in."

"No, I don't think so," said Tails, "the robots appear to have either decided to leave us alone or have lost us, I don't think we should poke a hornet's nest."

Sonic quipped, "But that's, like, our favourite thing to do."

"I need to make sure they're okay!" protested Knuckles.

"If the temples are burning, we can't do anything about it!" said Tails, "if we do go up, we're more likely to inadvertently attract the attention of the robots."

Knuckles gave him a black look, but accepted the logic.

There was a moment of quiet, and Sonic got the idea the group were catching their breath after their insane and miraculous escape.

"Why was the plane behaving so schizo, Tails?" asked Sonic.

Tails shrugged, "Beats me, it's never done that before."

Amy and Cream exchanged looks, and Sonic didn't miss a beat.

"What?"

"Uh, well," started Amy, suddenly looking flustered – but not half as much as Cream, "well, we didn't think that we'd all have to be riding in the _Tornado_, and, ah..."

"It's my fault," murmured Cream, looking down at the ground and fiddling with her hands.

Sonic remembered how Cream had struggled to lift Amy back on the surface, and had seemed just that little bit less nimble than usual.

"No it's not," interjected Amy, "Cream's been learning Piko-Piko art. We got her a Piko hammer just this summer gone, and she seemed a natural. So, I taught her hammer-space... the only problem was that, while she could make the hammer-disappear... she couldn't make it re-appear. It's stuck on her."

"I'm sorry!" cried Cream, "We should have said, i-if I had known it would interfere with Tails' plane, I woulda" –

"You made the hammer disappear," cut in Sonic, thinking this through, "and... then couldn't get it out?"

Cream nodded, looking close to tears.

But Sonic just burst out in laughter, "That's the funniest thing I've heard all day! You must weigh like a hundred kilos!"

"Yeah, and it nearly got us all killed," said Knuckles, darkly, but even he didn't have it in him to glare at Cream.

"I'm so sorry," she sniffed, and sat down, "I want go home..."

Sonic felt a small pang inside his chest, followed by a wave of sympathy.

"Ah, Robotnik wouldn't have gone that far," said Sonic confidently, "Chapter one, passage three, or sixty-one or something, he hurts somebody on neutral territory, the Tri-Alliance are allowed to come down on him like a tonne of bricks."

Tails piped up, "But you said Robotnik didn't care about" –

"Shut _up _Tails…" Sonic murmured.

Shadow snickered. "Robotnik would have roasted you all in front of that little girl then video-linked it live to ECN."

"Okay, okay," Tails quickly interjected when Sonic, outraged, was about to snap back, "this isn't getting us anywhere. Cream couldn't help what happened, Shadow helped us out when time called, and we can check the temples out, which _are _probably fine, when it's safe." He took a breath. "The only question I've got is, where is Nickel?"

Tails turned to face Sonic, as did the rest of the group. Feeling vaguely uncomfortable, Sonic rubbed the back of is neck and said as simply as he could, "I let him go."

Tails looked at him, confused. "What do you mean – did he fight you off?"

"No, well yes, he tried – didn't get far. The doors closed on me."

Tails, Knuckles and Amy all stared back at him. Befuddled, Tails confirmed, "The doors shut on you?"

"Yeah."

"And you didn't try to just get in another way?"

"He wanted to go with Eggman, so I let him," finished Sonic.

There was a silence.

"I'm sorry?" asked Shadow, looking up at him with a mixture of acidic sarcasm and tired aggravation, "Let me just confirm this – you _had _the chance to stop them but you didn't? You _had _the boy, the only person in the world that could tell us what is actually _happening_, with these magnetic pulses... and you just let him trot off with arguably one of the most dangerous men on the planet?"

Sonic frowned, "There was more than one?"

"Idiot!" Shadow hissed.

"I couldn't just drag him off," said Sonic earnestly, turning his back to Shadow in a gesture that indicated he refused to explain himself to him, and instead facing Knuckles, Tails, Cream and Amy, "he needed to work it out for himself. If I didn't, he wouldn't have trusted us."

"But he could get hurt!" protested Amy.

"No, I don't think so, Eggman probably wants him to find his brother, who, the way Nickel talks about him, is probably older, and stronger. And even so, a little bit of a scare might be just what he needs."

"That's beastly!"

"Maybe so, Amy," said Knuckles, "but Sonic's right about one thing – if we had just kidnapped him, he'd be trying even now to get away from us. If Sonic had dragged him back when he did, Robotnik would have given chase and we'd be chewing bullets."

Shadow was probably fuming, but Sonic didn't turn to look at him. "Only thing we gotta wait for now is daybreak" –

"No."

Now Shadow had abandoned all cruel mocking, and his voice back to serious assertiveness. Sonic ignored him.

"We all need a rest. Robotnik will gain some ground, but we'll have the _Tornado _back up to scratch in no time. We go pick up the _Golden Rose_, which is hopefully still in a fit shape"–

"Sonic!" –

"You should get back to GUN," said Sonic, finally turning back to Shadow, "wouldn't want your military pals to worry or anything."

"I came here to bring _you _back to Central by request of the Commander himself," snarled Shadow, sliding himself up the wall and into an unsteady standing position, "Now, I'll admit I let the situation get out of control, but we need to find Robotnik _now _before the situation escalates" –

"Forget it, I'm not runnin' off to GUN all happy to see them. First I'm gonna make sure Knuckles' temples are still standing, then I'm getting Cream home _then _I'm dealing with Nickel."

"And I bet you promised to get Nickel home, too!" exploded Shadow, "and now you've let him run off with Robotnik! Stop running around after _children _and take some responsibility" _–_

"I'll do what I like!" snapped Sonic, feeling a flicker of genuine anger.

As the two hedgehogs sized each other up – the fur on their shoulders, upper arm and chest rising instinctively, they were momentarily distracted by a loud _crack _and a heavy _thud!_ Both turned to see Amy, preposterously heavy hammer in hand, glaring at them in venom.

Sonic didn't really want to start a fight in front of the likes of Tails, Cream and Amy _again_ – once was fun. Twice was excessive.

This thought forced Sonic to calm down, and he bit down again on a dozen retorts and taunts – another complication was not what they needed right now.

A compromise was in order.

Nickel felt way out of his depth, but refused to feel regret or fear. For the better or worse his choice to join Dr Robotnik had got him his emerald back, now all he needed to find was his brother.

He must have fainted with the stress of it all, because when he had woken up he found himself in a dark, noisy, unfamiliar room. Heavy machinery filled the room, it stunk of oil and was uncomfortably hot.

He noticed a machine hovering in the air a little way away, static filled the machine's screen like a broken television. The screen flickered once, and Doctor Robontik's bloated and pouchy features appeared, his eyes hidden behind flat blue spectacles.

Swinging his legs from the white bed, Nickel asked the small machine, "Where are we?"

"_Just out of the Mystic Ruins,"_ replied Robotnik happily; he looked pleased to see him awake.

"Where are we going now?" said Nickel, slightly suspicious.

The Doctor's comical features suddenly turned serious, _"Listen, you've chosen to side on this end of the line, we need to trust each other."_

"Right," said Nickel, coldly.

"_I have some good news,"_ said Robotnik without skipping a beat, _"after intercepting some radio chatter, it seems one flying white hedgehog is zooming along down the east coast."_

"So that's where we're headed, right?" asked Nickel, perking up instantly.

"_Sure is, kiddo, but I was wondering, this ship is fast, but with a powerhouse like you she would go twice her max! What do you think of heading on down to the engine room and using those marvellous powers of yours to propel us to victory!? I've developed an engine to transform your energy into the fuel that makes this ol' girl tick."_

"Er... sure," said Nickel. He noticed the Rainbow emerald in his lap, barely glowing.

"Did you know I can use the Rainbow Emerald to enhance my powers?" asked Nickel, enthusiastic, "I can use it to power your ship more!"

"_I was counting on it,"_ said Dr Robotnik, with a barely concealed sly smile. _"With you running the bowels we'll be there in a few hours! Just in time to intercept your brother! Provided he's going in a straight line..."_

"Oh, he will be," chirped Nickel, "He's can sense my psychokinesis over long distances if he wants too, I'll bet he knows roughly where I am! But I'm not as good as him, so I haven't figured out how to do that yet..."

"_Really?"_ enquired the Doctor. _"I've never seen anything like your abilities before, they're simply incredible. Can you tell me more?"_

Angel Island

After an uncomfortable silence, it was Cream that eventually spoke up.

"Mr Sonic, maybe you should go with Shadow. We can catch up when we're ready."

Sonic turned back to them, "Are you sure – that means no rest if we're gonna do this together, and I've got an idea it's gonna be a very busy night."

Tails shrugged, "You'll probably get up to Central at about midnight, it'll only take me a little while to get the _Tornado _back up to power, and seeing as it will only be me and Knuckles, I'll be able to take the _Tornado _up to its full speed – we'll probably overtake you on the way up!"

Shadow looked like he was struggling not to roll his eyes, but when he made his next suggestion it was in a calm, level tone. "We should move right away. Knuckles, seeing as we _are _moving, I see no reason why you should not check on the temples."

Shadow brushed off all questions about how fit he was to travel. In fact, he led the way to the back of the cave, where indeed there seemed to be a thin, straggly path of sorts that led into the darkness. He re-absorbed the fake Chaos emerald.

"See you guys in a couple of hours," said Sonic, barely sparing the rest of them a backwards glance before he followed the disappearing backs of Shadow and Knuckles into the dusty obscurity. He'd see them again.

The tiny tunnel was cramped, dark and suffocating, but Sonic felt mostly unaffected, being a burrowing species. If it was something he couldn't spindash through, it would be a different story, but right now he almost enjoyed the enclosure, and the smell wasn't all that unappealing. It was sort of comfortable, safe. Even a little nostalgic. It reminded him of his bedroom back in 17 Lillie Street.

The sounds of Knuckle's and Shadow's footsteps suddenly changed, as if they were now treading on stone. Eventually, Sonic reached what appeared to a thin, winding and steep, flight of stairs, so eroded some of the steps had simply vanished into time.

"Guess this is what 4000 years neglect does to a place," muttered Sonic, feeling his way along and sidestepping an ankle-twisting-capable hole, the only light the orange strips Shadow was illuminating on his air-skates.

Eventually, they reached fresher air, easier to breathe and cooler to the senses, especially after the merciless upward climb. The Echidnas must have been first-rate athletes if they made these sorts of climbs everyday. However, Shadow picked up something else.

"Is that rain?" he asked from somewhere above.

"Ugh, hope not," Sonic answered, but by increased frequency of their footfalls, Shadow and Knuckles were hurrying for the surface. Grudgingly, Sonic picked up the pace so as not to lose the flickering light of Shadow's skates.

After thirty seconds hurried trotting up the eroded staircase, Sonic eventually smelled the damp, fresh smell of rain. Which was odd given it had been a clear afternoon. The tunnel eventually opened up into a tiny cave on the cliffside that Sonic nearly had to bend down to a crawl to navigate, and even then he was pushing himself to fit through slim gaps in the earth. At this point, even he was beginning to feel the beginnings of claustrophobia as he found himself wedged between two invisible walls, unable to see where he was going or how much further he had left.

Eventually, dim moonlight illuminated some of the surroundings, and he felt the cold, shuddering drop of water hit him square on the forehead.

From further ahead, he heard Knuckles laughing heartily.

Pushing himself forwards with a powerful shove, freeing himself of the rocky squeeze but earning a few stinging grazes, Sonic finally reached the outside. Knuckles and Shadow were standing side by side in the rain, Knuckles with his head tilted toward the spitting sky.

"It's raining," he laughed, "just when you think the old island's puttering out, she gives another kick!"

"What are you going on about?" asked Sonic, looking up at the sky to try and see what he was looking at, but he reverted his gaze quickly, not enjoying the precipitation on his fur.

"Knuckles is under the impression the island conjured up this weather to put out the fires," said Shadow, as if he neither denied nor supported this theory.

"Not the _island_, exactly, but the Master Emerald... I think the temples are fine now."

"What?" asked Sonic, confused, "but you haven't even seen them! You could climb a tree, and then" –

-"If the temples were gone, the Master Emerald wouldn't be using energy just to make it rain, she'd be devastated. They're fine, I know it."

Sonic went to exchange a bemused glance with Shadow, but the dark hedgehog was suddenly looking rather solemn, red eyes watching the rain fall, yet not really seeing them.

Knuckles nodded to Shadow, the closest gesture to 'good luck and goodbye' he could convey to him, then turned on his heel, and began heading back towards the underground staircase to help Tails with the repairs, fur already a little darker with the wet.

"I think you'll find most of the island in perfect shape," Knuckles said to Sonic, happily.

"Yeah, you used your Chaos voodoo to deduct that, too?

"Nah, common sense. Not that you'd know anything 'bout that."

Pleased to see Knuckles in such a good mood after he'd been through such worry, Sonic smiled, and butted fists with the echidna.

"And by the way, listen, Sonic," murmured Knuckles, so quiet only Sonic would hear him, "be careful, you're heading out to free Nickel, but who knows what _he _wants him so much for."

"No kidding, Knux."

Knuckles nearly rolled his eyes. He turned away, and was soon swallowed up by the tiny cave, leaving Sonic and Shadow alone. However, Shadow still appeared to be staring out into space with a slightly hard glare.

"Er, ready when you are," said Sonic.

Shadow glowered, then cocked his head as if to say 'follow', kicked his air-skates into gear, and shot into the rainforest.

"Whoo boy," grimaced Sonic.

They were in the air only five minutes later. The bombs had felt ferocious enough to raze the island but in reality they had not really made much of a dent. Perhaps Robotnik had been more concerned with escaping than truly laying siege to the island.

Shadow seemed far from comfortable in the sleek black jet – Sonic didn't know the model, but it was nearly three times the size of the _Tornado,_ was not outfitted with military components,and designed for humans. As a result, his feet did not quite reach the floor, and though the controls had been modified to suit an anthrohuman, Sonic thought they looked quite ridiculous. He was buckled into the seat behind Shadow's.

As soon as they had hit cruising altitude, Shadow had contacted GUN. There had been a lot of 'this is agent Shadow' and 'over' and 'standing by', but eventually Shadow was able to request audience with the Commander.

After that there was some more 'standing by' and finally 'access granted'.

All they had to do then was sit and wait for the Commander to get back to them.

"So," he said after a moment. Sonic prepared himself, Shadow wasn't one to make idle conversation, "if you know anything else about Nickel, now is the time to tell me."

"Ahh…" Sonic immediately thought of the Rainbow emerald.

"Nope. Can't think of anything."  
"What did you do with Metal Sonic?"  
Sonic frowned, "How did you…"

"GUN collected his remains this morning."  
"Yeah, but, how did you know it was -" Sonic, stopped. Frowning and annoyed, he said, "I just told you, didn't I?"

"Yes, which begs the question how did you reduce him to a twisted, molten corpse?"

Sonic was reluctant to say anything more. He didn't need to.

"Because," continued Shadow, "The only time I've seen metal look quite like that is after I have incinerated one with a Chaos Blast. That, and a good citizen handed in a strange green stone to the authorities about six hours ago in Central City. Confirmed to be a Chaos emerald." Sarcastically, Shadow said with barely suppressed rapture, "How did it get there, I wonder?"

"You know, I think Amy might have given you a bit of a concussion when she got you with her hammer."

"You couldn't expect us not to find out. You went Super. The Chaos emeralds are scattered."

"Yeah," Sonic accepted. "Metal had some incredible armour though. I must have hit him at like five-thousand k's an hour while Super and he still only broke in two."

"Well, he's definitely dead. If only we'd finished off the last one that easily."

"As awesome as going Super is, it's a pain in the butt having to go fetch them all again."

Sonic thought about the Rainbow emerald again. Shadow was going to find out eventually – his retaliation might be worse than him just knowing now.

"Ok, fine, there is one more thing."

Sonic explained the Rainbow Emerald and how it had probably been used as a bargaining chip for Nickel's trust.

"Don't suppose the Black Arms…"

Shadow shook his head. "This is new to me." He actually laughed. "I'd have been dragged along to steal it by now if Rouge knew."

"Right. Rubbish luck that of all people Robotnik managed to get the Rainbow emerald."

"If you're right about only the boy being able to use it, then it's not a Chaos emerald."

"It reacted to the other seven. Knuckles reckons the Master Emerald is under pressure holding the balance of eight emeralds instead of seven. If even the Master emerald thinks it is one, who are we to say?"

"Any idea where the rest of the emeralds could be now?"

"Nope, they'll turn up."

"Would you tell me even if you knew?"

"Not a chance."  
Shadow sighed, but didn't bother pursuing the subject. There were easier ways to find the emeralds.

"Fine. The boy then… Nickel. I've heard of psychokinesis but didn't think it possible. Did Robotnik create that tech?"  
"That's classified." Sonic stretched out in his seat, now rather enjoying himself.

Shadow growled with frustration, "Sonic…" but was cut off as the radio began to spit again.

"_GUN HQ to Agent Shadow, this is the Commander, over."_

"Receiving you loud and clear, over."

"_Excellent, permission to speak freely. We were beginning to become apprehensive on this end, Shadow, your signal cut off barely an hour ago."_

"Long story," replied Shadow. Sonic noted that the two of them were talking informally; more like equals. He wondered if it was because they truly were, or if the Commander knew it was the only way to keep Shadow in line. It made sense; Shadow was nobody's subordinate.

"_But you've captured Sonic?" _asked the Commanders voice.

"Who's he calling captured?!" interrupted Sonic.

"_Is that him?"_

"Yes sir." replied Shadow, slightly dubiously.

"_Then, Sonic, I'm addressing you directly. You are hereby arrested upon charges of causing severe damage to a city of the United Federation, protecting a criminal, possibly a refugee"-_

"Whoa! Arrested?" Sonic cried, leaning over Shadow's seat. "You're kidding right? Not again!"

Even Shadow could only ogle at the radio in surprise.

"_Shadow, I'm leaving him as your responsibility. This is a direct order, do not let him escape. Over and out."_

"What?!" said Sonic. And for a mere naive second, Sonic was sure Shadow was going to exclaim his protest too, but became apprehensive, when, as the line clicked dead, Shadow slid his hand over the autopilot button. He undid his seatbelt to stand in his seat.

"Ah, ok, I'm just sayin' that if you pull a spear out I will personally spindash this plane to pieces."

"Relax," said Shadow, sounding bored, "I'm not arresting you."

Sonic obeyed, then almost hit the roof of the plane as it dropped suddenly in altitude. Shadow slowed the plane, taking them much closer to the ground. It was night outside, Sonic could see little but purple silhouettes of scenery.

Sonic winced, but couldn't help himself. "So, um, why?"

"Because I really can't be bothered," said Shadow, truthfully, "I could" – Sonic scoffed – "but it's hardly worth it. I work with GUN provided our interests align. The Commander knows that."

"So your interest is _not_ to arrest me?" Sonic confirmed. He had been in a GUN cell once before and, while he had probably endured worse he didn't have time to lose.

"No."  
"Oh good." said Sonic, now cheery. Just give me a ride to a Central and we can still go after Nickel together" –

It was Shadow's turn to scoff. "If I were you, I'd grab that emergency parachute under the seat."

Sonic paused, understood he wore no belt, then dove for the underneath of the seat. His hand just clamped over the back strap of the parachute when Shadow tipped the plane and popped the hatch above Sonic's head.

The wind tore it open, and Sonic, curled in his spindash for protection (but for his hand holding the chute) was sucked out of the vacuum.  
That had been a brief alliance, he thought above the roaring wind as he enjoyed the freefall. But if Shadow thought this was going to slow him down he was in for a surprise. Thankful that he was finally away from the moody, humourless hedgehog, Sonic strapped on his parachute.

Six hours later

The _Tornado _and the _Golden Rose _had long since left Angel Island, after a quick call from Tails to some old friends. The walls beneath Angel Island needed to be investigated, ASAP. Knuckles was always apprehensive calling in this particular team, but seeing as Amy refused to stay there was not much of a choice.

The _Tornado _was quite a bit more damaged than Tails had initially suspected, but she would have to hold for the high-speed flight. First stop was Cream the Rabbit's villa/farm in Green Hill Zone. They had already called ahead, requesting space to land. Cream's father was Governor of the United Federation Greater Zones District, and away on business, but Vanilla, Cream's mother, had flown up from a southern zone she'd been visiting to meet them. Neither of them really understood what Cream got up to on her adventures with either Amy or Team Sonic.

It was a pity they could not properly see the villa in the darkness – it was a magnificent piece of land when seen in all its glory. Tails let the _Golden Rose _dive down to land first, and winced as the suspension was pushed to its limit by Amy's piloting. However, then it was his turn.

Tails was just thinking that Sonic should have called in by now to tell them where the next stop was, when a familiar screaming _boom_ hit their ears like a firework.

"Sonic!" Tails cried, just as the _Tornado _touched down, having now reverted back to its biplane form to conserve energy. Pulling up beside the _Golden Rose, _now safely off the runway, Tails jumped out of the cockpit, Knuckles only a second behind him. Sonic skidded twenty metres to a stop, tearing up a great deal of grass. Dust clogged the beams of light emitted from the planes.

"Good, found you," Sonic sounded immensely proud as he held up his left wrist and said, "actually _used_ my wrist-comm. Used the tracker to find the _Tornado_."

"Well done. Maybe you'll be able to play pong on it next," replied Tails, eyes wide with sarcasm. He immediately dodged a swipe as Sonic passed.

"I thought you were heading to Central!" called out Knuckles.

"Scammed my way out," said Sonic. He spun on his heel to face his friends, "but, we have a problem. Shadow's going after Nickel and he's got a headstart the speed of a jet."

"Why'd you split?"

Sonic shrugged and opened his arms wide, a breezy grin lighting his face, "Wanted by GUN again, what else?"

Amidst the cries of 'what – why!?' Sonic said, "GUN are just freaking out. They're not our problem. Tails, how soon can we catch up after Shadow?"

"The _Tornado's _done way too much, Sonic," said Tails, dubiously, "She needs a break."

"Well take your pick, do you want to break Nickel out from an Egg Carrier or GUN HQ? Besides, Eggman's on UF turf, they're gonna be cheesed off. We can use the carnage as a distraction to get in and out unnoticed."

"I thought you said you wanted Nickel to work out what side he was meant to be on his own?" asked Tails.

"He's got until we break him out to do that. That's plenty of time." Sonic jumped to his place on the _Tornado's _wing, "Now c'mon – saddle up."

"What about Amy and Cream?"

Amy said, "My point exactly. What do we do?" She and Cream approached the _Tornado_. As they did Tails and Knuckles climbed aboard.

Irritated, Sonic said, "Have tea. Do gardening. I dunno."

"Sonic!"

He changed his tone immediately. "I'm kidding. Well, come?"

"We need more Magic Rings to make the journey." said Amy, disappointment in her voice.

"Guess we'll have to come back for you then," said Sonic. "Just catch up to us when you can."

"In twenty four hours you'll probably be in Chun-Nan or something!"

"Hope so. Hit it, Tails."

The _Tornado _leapt forward before Amy could, an angry snarl on her face equal to the sheer adventure summed up in Sonic's.


	12. Chapter 11 - The Kinesis Brothers

Course of Collision

The Kinesis Brothers.

Sunday

"_Tails, how are we going for fuel?"_ said Knuckles through his mic. Tails eyed the Magic Ring gauge with worry.

"At least if we crash we won't explode, right?" said Sonic. He rode the 'X' of the plane's wings while Knuckles manned the rear gun.

"_That's not funny."_

"Or, just think, you could have built this thing on MagnoThermals, and we'd already be dead." He mimed some kind of projectile hitting what was assumedly a MagnoThermal-powered vessel with his hands, and then quickly leant back, opening his arms wide while mimicking the sound of an explosion. Afraid he would fall, Tails quickly tilted the plane. Sonic straightened, cackling.

"_If only it were so easy,"_ called Knuckles, _"Robotnik's not as stupid as Pirates."_

"_Knuckles is right, we're not going after the MagnoThermals – not only are they too hot for any of my weapons to get close enough, they'll be the most defended."_

Sonic eyed the cityscape below. Neon lanes of cars filled the irregular patterns of multi-layered infrastructure composing Central City. They were a green signal here, and so were not required to radio their presence – an act of diplomacy personally to Team Sonic from GUN.

Ahead was the ocean, signified by the sudden decrease in dense lighting. There was no moon out tonight, lowering visibility drastically.

As they approached the coast, Tails informed them, _"A lot of signals up ahead. I think GUN is after the Egg Carrier."_

"They're not going to take it on, are they?" Sonic asked sharply.

"_Can't tell from here, I suppose it might be a little impolite to decode the encryption on their radio chatter, right?"_

Strongly encrypted voice messages were a technology stolen by GUN from Robotnik.

Except they weren't the first ones to have stolen it.

Tails beamed as the software installed onto his plane's computer hunted down the particular radio signatures, efficiently decoding them. His software should be camouflaged, but Tails knew he still ran the risk of being discovered.

They were well over the water now. They flew further out, and eventually what had been a murky silhouette became the red and purple armoured Egg Carrier. The familiar dread experienced upon comprehending its size befell all three of them, but the speed and agility of the _Tornado _doubled with Tails' piloting skillswas a small comfort. Their apprehension was not shared by GUN. At least a dozen GUN jets, and one helicopter carrying a series of mechanoids, were harrowing it. Yet neither side attacked.

"Don't slow down, Tails, we need to get Nickel off."

"_If I get any closer Robotnik will engage. Then GUN will engage. Then we have a Second Robotnik War!"_

"No we won't," scoffed Sonic.

Knuckles said dryly, _"Yeah, just a lot of dead Feds."_

Sonic frowned at the brittle stalemate. A single act would break it, and neither side seemed interested in doing so. Except for them.

"Excellent, this is going to make us real popular. Tails?"

"_Um…?"_

Sonic looked to the cockpit, bemused. He could not see inside the blue, cocoon-like windshield, but imagined Tails laying there, his attention diverted.

"Tails – what" –

"_Sorry, Sonic, I just had an incoming air vessel – it's a GUN helicopter. Heavily armoured, double-thrusters… what on Mobius?"_

"What?"

"_Something really weird is going on – by, _Mauro_ – it's Nickel!" _

It didn't take Sonic long to find him. A helicopter half-enveloped in gaseous light was hurtling towards the Egg Carrier. A cyan star huddled on its tails, trailing a gaseous tail like a comet. Sonic did not remember Nickel ever displaying such power with his psychokinesis.

"_Wow! Does he have control of that chopper!"_

"Tails, I don't think that's Nickel."

"_It's a GUN chopper… they're 200m from the Carrier and now changing course!"_  
The chopper first seemed to tilt away, and then begin to wobble unnaturally. In particular strife it dropped sharply.

"_They're falling!"_ said Knuckles sharply.

The cyan star knew it, and abandoned ship. It leapt high, then boosted into the sky towards the deck of the Egg Carrier. It seemed to push off the falling aircraft.

"_Take that back - he's flying! Can Nickel do that!?_"

"_I don't think so, Knuckles, but neither can he! He's struggling! I'm… I'm going in!"_

He was right. The arc was falling short and the cyan light flickering dull. Whoever it was they were not going to make the Egg Carrier.

Tails was already moving to intercept. The _Tornado _leapt forwards so fast Sonic had to clutch his whole body to the wing – an impossible feat for anybody without the strength of innumerable absorbed Magic Rings. At their sudden increase in movement the GUN jets began to take formation. Sonic counted over a dozen of them. However, they still did not fire. Too slow to truly escape without permission, the Egg Carrier continued to lumber north.

His stomach leapt into his throat as the _Tornado _dove sharply for their now falling target. Well below the Egg Carrier.  
_"Agh, he's gonna think we're going for his MagnoThermals if he can't see him!"_

"_Sonic, grab him!"_ cried Tails through their mics. Wrapping his legs around the wings, Sonic reached out just as Tails passed the falling hedgehog, allowing Sonic to grab him by the arm and pull him aboard.

A hedgehog, but not Nickel. Sonic conveyed as much to his teammates.

"_There's a craft on our tail!"_ called Tails, but Sonic and Knuckles had no time to find it.

Tails pulled up just as two red hot bolts of plasma fired on them.

And that was it.

The Egg Carrier screamed every siren and warning signal, the GUN fighter jets immediately broke off like angry bees and began besieging the Egg Carrier. A V-like craft, armoured and powered by three engines, remained on their tail.

"_Great!" _shouted Knuckles, pulling his turret around one-hundred and eighty degrees to face it, _"Him! Again!" _

They had all instantly recognised the craft that had fired on them. Thought it was too dark for anybody but perhaps Tails with all his computers to see, below the V-like craft, controlling it like a motorised hang-glider, was Shadow.

Sonic clutched the hedgehog and the _Tornado_ tightly as Tails threw them into a series of complicated corkscrews and spins, avoiding Shadow and the disaster occurring between GUN and the Egg Carrier.

They made it above the Carrier, and as soon as they did the hedgehog they had just saved leapt _back _intothe empty air. Summoning the same psychokinetic power Nickel had displayed, he rocketed towards the Egg Carrier, this time with no way of missing.

"_Is he crazy!?"_ yelled Tails.

"Tails, I need to follow him!"

"_It'll mean slowing down!"_

"We can't let Shadow get there first!"

Knuckles fired two bolts at Shadow. They both missed the agile craft, but it did make Shadow fall back.

"_Now's your chance,"_ he yelled, _"Go, Tails!"_

Tails flew them lower, pulling them up just ten metres above the deck with pinpoint accuracy. He broke to a speed Sonic was capable of jumping from.

And jump Sonic did. He curled into a tight ball, taking one final note of where the hedgehog was headed and closed his eyes for impact.

Nickel awoke to a terrifyingly loud _bang_!

Shock electrified him, and drove him to his feet. Heart pounding, he looked around wildly. The machine he had been pouring energy into before he had fallen asleep lay dormant, and the cold steel room was undamaged.

Another loud _bang_. And another. And another.

'_The ship is firing…" _thought Nickel, brain disengaged from most of his body. He staggered towards the exit. Were they under attack?

The metal, egg-shaped doors opened as he approached them. The only other area on this ship he knew was the loading bay, and that was no good to him now. Doctor Robotnik. He would know what was happening, what to do. But where would he be?

Straight ahead was an upwardly inclined ramp.

A terrible mechanical scream, incredibly loud, overloaded his senses. He fell back again the metal wall, terrified. What was out there?

One foot followed the other. He continued forwards and upwards. Anything was better than down here in the dark.

The Egg Carrier was holding nothing back.

Probably driven by his own arrogance, determined to send the message he was not a dying empire, Robotnik seemed hell-bent on more or less showcasing his Egg Carrier's small-vessel firepower. Tails was easily driven away – some of the GUN jets were not so lucky. But with Robotnik's attention on Tails and GUN, Sonic hoped he might have enough of a window to find Nickel and appease the other hedgehog should it be required. Unlike last time he stormed an Egg Carrier, he did not have seven emeralds to save him should he run into serious trouble.

Shells the size of footballs fired around him, his feet a blur of speed as he wound through the complicated deck. Sonic kept one eye trained on the cyan star swiftly flying just above the infrastructure. The deck was a maze of massive gun turrets and irregularly spaced purple buildings. Whenever Robotnik discovered he was aboard, it would also be swarming with robots.

They passed the massive central control, towering high above the deck of the carrier. Based on how long he had been running at this speed Sonic estimated he had chased him for about a kilometer now. What was the hedgehog doing?

Suddenly, his target darted quickly to the left, going out of sight for the first time. At first Sonic thought he had found something, then realised somebody had caught up first.

"Damn it!" he cried, punching the air with frustration as Shadow swooped in from above. Only a dark figure to Sonic's eyes he released his hold on the plane. He fell to the deck the craft, but he would put to good use the loss of his plane.

"Double damn it!" cried Sonic again, now with real fear as the plane dropped to land on _him_.

Ducking his head, Sonic forced more power to his feet, and flew across the deck as a streak of blue light. The plane crushed itself under its own weight behind him, leaving a sizeable impression in the deck. Approaching the building where he had last seen both hedgehogs, he leapt high to a vantage point atop a steel framed tower (the use of which he was clueless).

They were fighting before a mighty entrance to the Egg Carrier – a cornucopia at least fifty feet wide. Perhaps fighting wasn't the right word. Shadow was herding the hedgehog back with his spears, away from the entrance it seemed to be trying to access. The red spears split the psychokinetic waves thrown by the white hedgehog, leaving Shadow unharmed. But he did not aim to harm his opponent – perhaps Sonic's words had gotten though after all.

"NOW, ENOUGH!" roared Shadow. The cyan aura around the white hedgehog flared, but otherwise he stopped attacking.  
And finally, he spoke.

"I'm not here for you!" the white hedgehog cried, "I'm not here for any of this! I just want my brother!"

"He's telling the truth, Shadow!" called Sonic from above. Both Shadow and the hedgehog whipped to face him, palms outstretched and ready to attack, "Nickel mentioned he had a brother, this is him."

"So there _are_ two of them."

"Yeah, but there'll be none soon enough. We need to get off this deck before the robots find us! There'll be too many, Shadow, even for us. Oh, and thanks for that plane, by the way, I hope you don't want it back."

The white hedgehog cried, "I'm not leaving without Nickel, I can tell he's nearby!"

Sonic jumped down, rolling to steady his fall before turning to the cornucopia.

"I didn't say get off the ship." He smiled. "I said get off the deck."

"I'm Silver. Silver the Hedgehog."

"Why did you attack at Hill Top zone?" growled Shadow, a few paces behind Silver, who in turn was a few paces behind Sonic, who jogged further into the Egg Carrier.

"I didn't!" said Silver, antagonised. He did a double-take as he looked at Shadow properly for the first time. "What the hell are you?"

"Focus – Hill Top Zone."

Silver shot him a disgusted look at being ordered around. Sonic's ears momentarily dropped as he realised they were not off to a good start.  
"That _thing _that took Nickel here did, I only defended myself."

The inside of the Carrier was barely lit – it had no reason to be. All power would be profited where it was needed, and right now it was needed to crush GUN. Their vision (Sonic and Silver's, Shadow could see in pitch black as if it were dusk) came from small red lights embedded as a continuous line along the base of the purple walls.

"Nickel mentioned somebody called, 'Nyx'," said Sonic, "Mean anything to you?"

"No," said Silver, sounding honestly confused. Sonic had to admire the hedgehog's determination, even if it could just as well be tunnel-vision. Silver did not ask for their names or why they were here, he could not even know exactly how much danger he was in. His only concern was his brother.

"He's close," he breathed, staring straight ahead. He took a deep breath. "NICKEL!"

The sound was deafening. Mid-yell, Shadow grabbed his shoulder and pulled him around, cutting off his cry. Silver stiffened as Shadow fixed him in a glare.

"Shut up!" he hissed, "Do you have any idea where we are?"

"I don't care!" snapped Silver, not bothering to lower his voice.

"You will now," whispered Sonic, ears quivering as they listened closely.

The three backed the way they had come, but Robotnik had been alerted.

A silver bulk appeared at the end of the corridor, partly hidden in the darkness.

Sonic broke first. Shadow was close behind. But they both skidded to a halt after thirty feet when it was apparent Silver was not following.

"Silver!"

"He's close, I can feel it!"

Shadow obviously didn't find that very pragmatic, because the spear he hurled at the oncoming robot nearly took off both Silver's ears. Angered and shocked at the display of power, Silver dodged into an adjacent corridor, this one thinner.

Sonic had no choice. He could not let Shadow get to both of them – and he was sure Shadow was thinking the same about him. They exchanged a glance, Sonic sighing inwardly, and then both scrambled after Silver.

Sonic rolled along the walls of the thinning corridors as much as the floor – as did Shadow. Each rescued Silver on more than one occasion. Sonic was only too aware of their time trickling away. He was stronger now than he had been last time he had been forced into a stunt similar to this, but that still did not mean he could just casually take on an entire Robotnik army.

Silver knew he was around the corner before he had even seen him.

"NICKEL!"

Silver nearly fell over as he tore around the corner, embracing his brother as Nickel flew into his arms. Sonic had no clue how they had found each other without communication in this dark and dangerous labyrinth but nor was there time to ask.

Shadow grabbed Nickel under the arm, and Sonic the same to Silver. But there was hardly anywhere to run. Robots could be heard on all sides. There would be dozens, hundreds even.

"If we hurry we can still make the exit!" said Sonic, trying to pull Silver along with him, but Silver had the brakes firmly on. Shadow still had a hold of Nickel, and was not budging.

Calmly, he straightened. Speaking into an earpiece too sophisticated to see, he said in his usual gravelly voice, "Rouge, extraction please. But please aim _carefully_."

"Knuckles, I literally have minutes of flight time left!" cried Tails, "You're going to have to go down there and get Sonic!"

Knuckles watched the Egg Carrier with wide eyes. To say it looked formidable was an understatement.

"_I'll think about it if you can get me close enough,"_ he said, quite honestly. Tails was nearly a kilometer away, fending off numerous robots and watching agonisingly for direct attacks from the ship itself.

Tails could feel the pressure weighing on his shoulders. How was he supposed to get Sonic back now that the Egg Carrier was fully alert to their presence? Sonic's communicator was of no use while within the Egg Carrier's hull, where electromagnetic receivers diverted the radio waves away from the intended location.

"Whoa, Knuckles, look!" shouted Tails into his own mic.

A helicopter escorted by no less than six fighters swooped at the port side. The GUN fighters scrambled away. Every single one simply bugged out.

The fighting fell quiet. Tails backed away so as not to appear the closest target.

"_Are they giving up?"_ asked Knuckles, puzzled.

"Maybe…" answered Tails, frowning. Inside his cockpit he diverted more energy to visual perception, pulling down nearly all his HUD's.

It happened in an instant. Without warning, part of the Egg Carrier simply exploded. Tails and Knuckles were knocked like flies in a galestorm.

"A rail gun!" shouted Tails, instinctively pulling away. He would put nearly nothing past Robotnik, but as far as he knew the mad dictator had no such defense for such a weapon and had not developed such a machine himself.

The Egg Carrier listed like a boxer hit in the gut. GUN, probably aware they had at least three highly valuable persons within the enormous ship had aimed away from the Magno Thermals.

Sneaky, thought Tails; GUN's confidence in their weapon meant they had been testing extensively.

Through the billowing smoke it was just visible that most of the Egg Carrier's nose had been sheared off. Thousands of tonnes of metal had been vapourised or sent flying onto the ocean. Plasma glowed within the blackness.

"There's an incoming transmission from GUN," said Tails, "I think they want to talk to Eggman! But this transmission's barely encoded… I think they want me to listen!"

"Well, patch it through!" said Knuckles.

Tails did so.

"_Enemy vessel, do you receive?"_

A pause.

"_This is Doctor Robotnik… business doing pleasure with you, Commander."_

"_Enemy Vessel, you are now under the command of the United Federation. The attack you just suffered was a kinetic energy round fired with a muzzle velocity of two-thousand" –_

"_metres a second and with an energy of about… 10-20 MJ, considering the damage done. Congratulations. You must be very proud. For the first time in a decade you have the bigger stick."_

"_And we have an even bigger one."_

Sonic's voice came through the local intercom, _"Does anybody else sense something a little off about this conversation?"_

"Oh good, he's alright," sighed Tails. Through some stroke of luck, GUN had damaged enough of the Carrier to allow their transmissions in and out.

"_Shush,"_ hissed Knuckles. No more than one channel at a time could be heard.

The Commander of GUN continued, "_Unless you comply with our terms another projectile will be fired, this one at the Egg Carrier's cockpit. Disable every robot under your command. Walk out onto the deck and surrender to the Guardian Units of Nations. This is non-negotiable."_

Below decks, painstakingly making their way up through the complex labyrinth of identical corridors, Sonic, Shadow, Silver and Nickel listened.

Robotnik said icily, _"Is the self-destruction of sub-compartment E-36/B negotiable?"_

"Bugger," murmured Sonic, speeding up.

"_I do, therefore, believe there _is _room for negotiation, Commander_," continued Robotnik, clearing his throat, _"Negotiate this: if my cockpit is destroyed… the entire Egg Carrier will self-destruct. Taking with it some of your own cargo you misplaced."_

"_That's us, isn't it?"_ said Sonic, alarmed. Nickel glanced at him, fear written all over his face."

"Sonic, better move fast," said Tails, now banking towards the Carrier. "We'll pick you up as soon as we see you."

Robotnik spoke, _"Commander, we're both busy men, so if you don't mind I'll let you go about your business and speak to… um… 'Dark 1', privately."_

Outside, the _Tornado _registered that the transmissions from Central had gone dead, and Tails realised with a sinking feeling that it had been no stroke of luck that Sonic had been able to contact them. He relayed as much to Sonic.

"_Now," _continued Robotnik, probably on a channel only directed at the _Tornado,_ _"as I said, I'm a busy man, so I'll make this quick. Get off my ship, Hedgehog. Leave the kid and the stone._"

"Or what?" sneered Sonic.

For a split second, Sonic wondered if by some lucky lapse the Doctor had simply forgotten about Silver, or did not know who he was. It took him just another second to understand why he was letting him go.  
"Or we all get compressed to liquescence when he unhinges this entire section of the Egg Carrier," said Shadow, "We know this ship is compartmentalised. It can survive with just fifteen percent of its original frame – this was foolish to begin with. We leave the kid."

Sonic frowned at that. Was Robotnik really going to trade another shot of the rail gun to let him of all people escape?

Sonic frowned again. He and Shadow had never _both_ been on an Egg Carrier before. Was Robotnik scared?

Nickel, clearly terrified, stuttered, "W-what?"

"Hell we are," said Silver, stepping up to face Shadow nearly nose to nose. It was brave but exceedingly ill-advised. Quick as a snake, face stern with disgust, Shadow pushed Silver off his feet with just his fingertips, the only reason he didn't fall was when Sonic caught him under the arm, hauling him back up to save him the humiliation.

"Shadow, he's just a kid" -

"He won't come to harm" –

"How can you be so sure!?" cried Silver.

-"Cooperate with him, and he has no reason to," said Shadow, looking to Nickel. Like most, Nickel turned his face rather than look Shadow in the eye, but he bit his lip in thought.

"Nickel, no," warned Silver.

"This is a stalemate, Silver… and I got myself into this. I was desperate enough I panicked."

The younger brother looked to his sibling with sudden admiration, "How did you find me?"

"I flew," said Silver, forcing pride for the apparent achievement into his voice, "Kind of. Mum didn't say it was possible, but there you go."

"I don't think Mum _or _Dad ever said drawing energy from a rock was possible either," said Nickel. The Rainbow emerald appeared in his hand. "I loved this stone at first. Now I wish I'd never found it…" he shook his head, "I can't even remember finding it."

Shadow reeled at the sight of the Chaos emerald.

"Told you," said Sonic.

The ground under their feet suddenly jolted, and gravity swung them into the hard metal wall. For the first time Silver's eyes widened with fright as he realised what kind of danger they were in.

"Nickel," said Sonic, "I don't think my team can do this alone. I know what Eggman's doing and we haven't got long – he's stalling. We've got a window that GUN's fallen for, we need to take it. We'll come back, I promise."

"Sonic, I'm so sorry."

Sonic smiled, half-apologetically, but he did not appear too worried, which provided Nickel some strength amidst his desperation.

Silver was outraged. "No! I won't go!"

"You're so far one of only two witnesses of what happened in Hill Top!" said Shadow loudly, "Stay, and we have little chance of interesting GUN enough to not test their new weapon some more.

Sonic said doubtfully, "C'mon? You believe them? You know what Robotnik's doing, right?"

Shadow shrugged. He nodded to the exit, "Let's go!"

He turned tail, and began the ascent. Sonic huffed, then said, "We'll be back, Nickel. Silver, it's on you. Do we all die here?"

Silver's face hardened as he faced the agonising decision.

Knuckles was beginning to feel shudders coursing through the _Tornado_. When one coincided with the plane dropping two feet, he spoke up.

"_Tails, what was that?"_

"My plane's equivalent of going onto life-support. I'm on emergency power – we need to land… even if it means leaving Sonic here."

"_Easy, Tails, I'm almost out. I've got Silver and Shadow with me – alright we're on the deck!"_

"If Robotnik fires I'm outta here, Sonic…"

"_He has what he wanted."_

Sonic saw the _Tornado _circle around for him, then sharply descend. But it wasn't the only one. A steel-grey chopper appeared, much larger, behind it as it rose from beneath the rim of the deck. A partly oil-powered helicopter without blades, the massive ring above it channeled a MagnoThermal current into the hybrid ship.

Shadow looked at Silver, and jerked his head towards the inbound transport. "C'mon."

Silver said, "That's GUN right? The human military?"

"Correct." shouted Shadow over the wind pressure from the incoming aircraft, still moving and under the impression Silver was following.

Anticipating what was coming, Sonic sighed and waved the _Tornado _down. It was much more agile than GUN's chopper, being half the size and of better design. Tails expertly landed it beside Sonic, while whoever piloted the chopper dropped a ladder from an open door.

"_Sonic, I really have to go!"_

"I'm not going with them," shouted Silver.

"I don't remember asking you what seat you wanted!" Shadow made to grab his wrist.

Silver obviously could not help himself. Infuriated at being talked to as such, he swept a backhanded fist in front of him, and a visible pulse of blue kinetic energy blasted from his glove, knocking Shadow back.

"That's for before," snarled Silver.

"Dear Mauro, what is it with you two picking fights with _him _of all people!" shouted Sonic aggravatedly.

"_You're one to talk!"_ shouted both Tails and Knuckles furiously. Sonic had already grabbed Silver by a shoulder and hauled up one wing of the _Tornado_. Sonic slid into a protected seat that opened for him, while Silver coated himself in his psychokinesis, and anchored himself to the plane as it rose, and rocketed away from the GUN craft.

"_That was a really bad thing to do!" _cried Tails, _"You realise the only place we have to go is GUN's front-door, right?"_

"Tell him that!" said Sonic into his mic, referring to Silver. Silver, of course, could not hear them.

"_A large ship just left the Egg Carrier! I think it's the Egg Falcon!"_

"_Robotnik's escaping?"_

"You guys seriously believed GUN would let him go!" said Sonic. "I think he offered that deal to stall for time, he banked on GUN falling for the hostage rescue! Hold onto your quills this is going to be loud!"

GUN fired the rail gun again.

White light sheared through the bottom centre of the Egg Carrier. The _Tornado _shook as the explosive force rattled the air, then buffeted uncontrollably as the Egg Carrier's massive MagnoThermals combusted.

The air seared white. Sonic tried to get a look, but his canopy faced the opposite direction.  
"Central City's getting one awesome light show."

"_Nickel was… definitely not on that, right?"_

"If he wanted that he would have just squished us all then and there. I think he wanted Nickel but… played Silver against GUN and us."

"_You think so?"_

"Well it worked, didn't it! I've already been given an arrest warrant by GUN once today, now we've stolen a national mystery!"

The city lights were rapidly growing closer, but the _Tornado _seemed to be struggling to hold a straight course.

"Tails, everything o" – He had barely got the words out when the sound of the engine suddenly ground to a halt, and the plane lost power over the coast of Central City.

Plummeting, Sonic was suddenly rather glad he had been forced to bring Silver along.

10

10


	13. Chapter 12 - New Plan

Search and Rescue

Chapter 12

New Plan

"At least we know he's useful," quipped Sonic, nursing his bruises. Silver was coming around, his blood nose subsiding. The smell of salt and the fresh kiss of the sea-wind helped bring him around.

"You're alive," was the first thing he said, tone flat. Flat on his back, he had both eyes squinted to slits as if he had a splitting headache. Knuckles helped him to an upright position. Everybody was covered in gritty sand from the fall.

"Well, most of us," said Sonic as he brushed sand off himself, nodding to the smoking wreck of the _Tornado_. Its red armour plating was scattered across the beach. Sonic's face suddenly furrowed as he looked at a figure kneeling, silhouetted against the sweet-smelling fire, "It could have been worse, Tails, it could've still been full of fuel!"

"Sonic, shut up," said Knuckles. He turned his attention to Silver, "Are you hurt? You didn't seem physically wounded, but you wouldn't wake."

Silver didn't answer – he had his own questions. "You should be dead. I slowed you down but… your weight was too much, you would've hit the ground" –

"Is he calling us fat?"

"We're… stronger, than most people," explained Knuckles, "We're battered, but we're in one piece."

"Yeah, not like humans and made out of porcelain."

Knuckles said, "GUN's going to be on us any second, we need to disappear… Sonic you remember how to find that underground, right?"

Sonic muttered, "Home sweet home."

Slinging an arm around his neck, Knuckles lifted Silver and made for the sandy slope where the beach met the suburbs, crunching over twisted and broken metal amongst the sand. Despite a pronounced limp he did not complain. Sonic followed. He made a detour to Tails and, as he passed, put a glove on the fox's shoulder.

"C'mon, bud, it's only a plane."

In a city as big as Central, there were plenty of places to disappear, though that they had plummeted to earth during night instead of day was to their substantial benefit. One hideout they had found many years ago was an ancient water treatment plant, one of dozens, well below the city at the nexus of the old sewer system. An upgraded set of lines and a newer treatment plant on the surface left the old ones obsolete. Though slowly being buried, and unknown to Sonic and co eventually scheduled for complete burial for its hazardous nature, it had served as a safe haven once before. Perhaps surprisingly, it was not difficult to find once within the sewers; directions and maps on the walls clearly outlined the ageing labyrinth.

"I don't think I've ever smelt anything so bad," said Silver, peering into the darkness, but that was the least of his worries. Being engulfed in the darkness with strangers whilst underground was no tonic for his nerves. The slaps of their footfalls on the concrete echoed far into the sewer.

"Then you've never stood on one of Angel Island's stink-bugs," replied Sonic. "By Mauro, I hate sand!" Though he looked clean, Sonic still brushed at every part of his fur and quills he could reach, determined to rid himself of every last grain.

"How did you even know this was here?" asked Silver as Knuckles lead the way. The faint outline of the plant could be seen ahead, but they did not go inside, instead remaining in the dingy, smelly tunnel, but at least no longer near the main drain. What Silver could see of the water treatment plant was a crumbling mess.

"Long story. Oh _c'mon_, Tails."

Silver looked over his shoulder in time to see Tails duck his head. Sonic was shaking his head at the fox, a look of apathy on his face.

"I'm fine!" said Tails, but the rich bitterness in his voice spoke to the contrary.

"Wouldn't it be warmer inside?" asked Silver, but Tails and Knuckles' glum faces said it all.

"This isn't our favouritist-ever place in the world, but it'll do," replied Knuckles, evasively.

Silver decided not to push it – inside or outside, they were still in an underground crap-hole.

The last twenty-four hours seemed like a lucid dream. He felt like a limp rag now that he sat down on the rough pavement, his insides left charred from the adrenaline. His head still pounded from the extended use of psychokinesis.

"Who are you people?" he asked, looking at the strange trio one by one.

"I'm Sonic, Sonic the Hedgehog, that's Knuckles, and that's my little brother Tails."

"I… can see the resemblance…"

"Long story," smiled Sonic, kicking some crumbled pavement together to fashion together some kind of pillow. Tails rested his head on his knees, watch-light off.

"Why did you help me?" asked Silver. "How do you know Nickel?"

"Somebody had to. Your brother appeared out of thin air at Tails' place in Green Hill Zone. He's been popular with everyone ever since."

"Sonic," said Knuckles, "shouldn't we be asking _him _the questions? Like why that kid appeared out of nowhere with an eighth emerald?"

"Well, Knuckles, now that you mention it, and seeing as we have him here I wouldn't mind knowing myself. Silver? Nickel is your brother, right?"

Silver gave them a look of wary apprehension, and said nothing.

"Kid, we saved your life," said Knuckles, leaning forwards, arms crossed, "and your brother's."

"As I see it, I saved yours." shot back Silver, "And Nickel – he's still with… whoever the hell that ship belonged to… where am I!?"

Sonic and Knuckles exchanged looks.

"What?"

"Just… out of curiosity Silver, can you tell me what the year is?" asked Sonic.

"What? It's 2213 – what does that have to do with anything?"

They stared back, and eventually it clicked.

All emotion suddenly dropped from his face, and like lightning he shot to his feet. Sonic and Tails followed, backing away to give him space. The lights that swung from their wristwatches made that space appear wild, and turned them to silhouettes.

"That's… that's impossible! Get away from me!"

"Silver, you're in no danger!" said Knuckles loudly.

Silver just stared at them, pupils contracted from the harsh light. Joltingly, he half fell back to the ground. He hardly felt it – trying to process this was like fitting a mountain through the eye of a needle. Feeling another headache coming on he buried his face in his hands and cried out, wanting to purge all the confusion and fear.

"Silver!" said Sonic, and something in his voice made Silver's attention cut to him. A hand outstretched diplomatically, Sonic relaxed his shoulders and said, simply, "It's gonna be ok."

Silver took a moment, then, throat dry, said, "Okay? W-What's the year?"

He wished they'd burst out laughing at him.

They did not.

"2009." At Silver's blunt stare, Sonic said, "if it's any help, you took that way more realistically than your brother."

"He's ten years old," croaked Silver, "I'm sure apart from that snake trying to kill us this is all just one big adventure."

Their ears perked.

"Snake?"

Silver nodded, "Well, not quite snake. He's… I have no idea what he is. He's like anthrohuman but slightly larger, but scales and eyes like a snake. He's… some kind of hybrid, I've never seen anything like it. A bit like us," Silver indicated Sonic and himself, "he looks a little like us, but with scales, and snake-like eyes.

He can… change, I saw it happen! His quills got larger and sharper as we fought… worst of all he seemed resistant to my PK!"

"Okay, just relax," said Tails.

Sonic interrupted, "What do you mean he changed?"

"I mean his appearance physically changed. When we first saw him he was… skinnier. And had no scales. Not after too long he was physically stronger, and like I said his quills became longer and sharp enough to cut." Silver lifted a forearm to show a half-dozen lacerations. "He could change right in front of us."

"We should probably get you some medicine for that," said Tails.

Sonic said, as if testing the flavour of a strange new fruit, "A shape-shifting snake-hedgehog?"  
"I'm not making it up!" cried Silver, heatedly, missing the curiosity in Sonic's voice. "You're the ones who sound mad! This is 2009?"

"Yep." Said Sonic.

"If you're lying to me… I'm two-hundred years… in the past?"

Knuckles cocked his head, but said nothing.

"Looks like it." continued Sonic, "Can you tell us how?"

"That stone of Nickel's." cursed Silver immediately, "I don't know what it is… He found that stupid rock at some point, I don't know when. I'm having trouble remembering everything…"  
"Your brother had some memory loss as well, he recovered most of it within a day."

"I know it was just any other day if not for that rock. We practiced our PK, we played with our pets and we played in the fields… but that snake came out of somewhere…"

"Well that's pretty much what Nickel said," frowned Sonic.

"Once he was there he attacked us! Specifically he attacked Nickel. I got in the way, but he was determined to get to him." Silver shook he head, lost for words, "Something happened in the middle of it, but I have no idea what.  
Next thing I know, I'm surrounded by snow and mountains," he suddenly looked furious, "and people were shooting at me! Like, actual bullets!"

"Hmm, well that sounds like one of the time warps the emeralds can trigger." mused Knuckles.

"What?" exclaimed Sonic, and then with a touch of sarcasm, "and you only just remembered that now?"

"I didn't think of it, why would I!? Imagine how stupid we're all going to feel when in turns out the emeralds have only flung these two through_ space_, which is more common – it's what a Warp Ring is, only more reliable. Time travel has been illegal in our culture since forever, my ancestors deemed it too much power for anybody. The scientists who developed it and all involved were executed. Then the people who executed them were executed."

"Tad harsh."

"Still, there's a specific technique behind it."  
"If it's illegal, how do _you _knowso much about it," accused Sonic, injecting excessive drama into his voice. "Off with his head!"  
"Bandit told me once," shrugged Knuckles. Tails and Sonic both went 'oh' and 'right' as if that solved everything. Silver stared numbly.

"You need two emeralds and two conductors. There's something about it being easier to accomplish if the conductors are related," Knuckles shook his head, "I'll have to check, but two-hundred years is a record by a long, long stretch."

"So why did I get flung across a continent in the space of a few seconds?" said Silver. "What emeralds?"

"Technically it was two-hundred years," pointed out Sonic.

"Whatever. _What _emeralds?"

Sonic held out a hand, and in it appeared the blue emerald. Its light illuminated everything within a thirty-foot radius. After a few moments it ebbed down to the luminosity of an average torch.

"These are Chaos Emeralds; basically nodes of infinite energy. There's seven, and they're balanced out by the Master Emerald, which Knuckles here protects. Only now your brother has turned up with one we have never seen before. Obviously we're worried about what that will do to the rest; it started up a pretty violent reaction back in Green Hill Zone."

Silver didn't seem to be listening. He stared intently in the emerald, face blank.

"Silver?" asked Sonic slowly. He exchanged a look with Knuckles and Tails, "You've seen one like this before?"

"Not blue. But yeah… that snake had it…" Silver shook his head as if trying to shake off his confusion, "This is madness. That snake had one on his body, like it was a part of him?"

"Oh… that's…" Sonic shrugged at Knuckles, "Like Perfect Chaos?"

"Was he made of water?" asked Knuckles sarcastically to Silver, who looked at him, nonplussed. "Well, then it wasn't a Guardian of the Ring Pool. And you're sure he wasn't an Echidna?"  
"Do Echidnas have scales?" asked Sonic, matching Knuckles' previous tone.

"He wasn't a hedgehog or an Echidna," said Silver. He indicated the blue emerald, "Tell me more about these. How were they made?"

"We don't know." said Knuckles.

"Wait, what? Well, what are they, where did they come from?"

"As it turns out, we're actually onto that mystery right now."

Sonic and Knuckles explained the Angel Island mythic records, and how it seemed too much of a coincidence that the Rainbow emerald featured in both.

"Whatever that eighth emerald is, we think it's got something to do with how these emeralds were created," finished Sonic. With a small flash the emerald floating in his palm disappeared. "Which is _awesome_."

To say Silver looked struck dumb was a huge understatement. "…So they're magic emeralds?"

"They're not magic," frowned Knuckles, "we just don't understand them well enough."

"We _might _if we let somebody study them," muttered Tails.

"What do you mean, you've had plenty of chances to look at them!"

"Not me, that level of science is way outta my depth, and you won't let me have somebody like Spag U have a look – which is why twenty four hours ago I was supposed to be locking them up for good" –

"Back on topic!" said Sonic loudly, turning back to Silver, "When Nickel arrived, his eighth emerald sent the rest nuts when it got close. But – other stuff was happening" –

"No, tell me what happened."

Wondering whether Silver could take Metal Sonic on top of everything, Sonic complied. He did not, however, divulge the Super State, instead explaining that the reaction from the Rainbow emerald scattered them.

"Wait, so Robotnik knew Nickel was coming?" frowned Silver.

"It's possible Robotnik just picked up on some kind of signal nobody else noticed," said Tails, "You've got to understand, Robotnik's mind is incredible. He can see patterns where others wouldn't even glance. He might have already had that cruiser sitting there since the Robotnik War as a sleeper. GUN finds a couple every year. More likely, Eggman just happened upon a signal that coincided with the location of a sleeper. He runs rings around national security, slips into the country and waits for something interesting to happen."

"Well, it's a theory," said Sonic dubiously.

"And GUN? What do they want with my brother?"

"I doubt they know," said Sonic, "They do know Robotnik is going to lengths to keep him, so that makes him a hot topic."

Frustration flashed bright on Silver's face.

"Then who was that other hedgehog, the one with the psycho red eyes?"

"That'd be Shadow." explained Sonic, and then in a sheepish tone, "You probably shouldn't pick a fight with him again."

"What? Fine, then how do we get Nickel back?" Silver demanded. He decided to give up trying to grasp what was happening. All that mattered was Nickel.

"We'll have to make contact with GUN," grumbled Tails, "We need air-transport anyway."

"Wait, what's that got to do with GUN?" asked Sonic. "And did you miss the part where they tried to arrest me?"

"Yes, I did, because you went off on your own! GUN have been making copies of the _Tornado _for a long time. As the original owner, I want one back."

They did not bother asking how Tails knew of GUN's top-secret projects – the army of leaks and hackers that had accumulated in awe of the boy-genius sometimes appeared more formidable than Sonic or Knuckles felt comfortable acknowledging.

Silver rubbed at his temples, utterly overwhelmed. Forty-eight hours ago, life had been normal.

Tails continued, "Of course, though they're not the best in the world, I still wouldn't want to get on the wrong side of GUN security," then with a touch of sarcasm, "If Robotnik comes by the coast again, we might have a big enough distraction."  
"I specialise in distractions," said Sonic with a wry smile. His concern over GUN's ability to arrest him was brief – he was more useful to GUN as an ally and they knew it. As long as they didn't step on each other's toes Sonic didn't believe he had much to worry about.

"First we should rest, and recharge," said Tails. Silver had just opened his mouth to protest when Tails tiredly interrupted, "Don't worry, once we get a plane, we'll catch Robotnik in no time."

Long after the others finally nodded off, Sonic remained awake. He estimated it was about two in the morning, but he could not sleep. Fortunately the years had taught him to run on sleeping hours as little as two or three. In the pitch black, he listened with disgust to the sound of the sewerage water flowing through grimy pipes. One of the first things he wanted once their names were cleared was a shower.

A silver lining still existed; an adventure had fallen right into his lap. But still, it almost seemed as if it had less fallen… and more been aimed. Nobody had wanted him involved, and yet could it be a coincidence that the location Nickel and Robotnik had converged on had been within jogging distance of Tails' workshop? And he had only planned to be there for no more than a few days.

Of all the powers on Mobius, none had the power to determine that, but he had long since learned that coincidences should rarely be left unquestioned.

Sonic, Knuckles, Tails and Silver all awoke at exactly the same time, their ears perked.

Sonic had eventually fallen asleep. But the faint sound of sirens from the surface had broken the slumber.

"Hear that?" said Sonic, snapping to his feet.

"Has GUN found us?" asked Silver uneasily.

"No, it sounds like a commotion on the surface," deduced Tails.

Knuckles grumbled, leaning back once more, "Central's got a crime rate almost as high as its debt, let me sleep – agh! Why you" –

Sonic danced out of range before Knuckles could retaliate with a kick of his own. "Knux, there's a manhole like a minute away, if we hurry maybe we can help."

Silver gasped as Sonic ran with inhuman swiftness to the exit.

"Oh yeah, you don't know he can do that, can you?" smiled Tails, before following, crying, "Sonic, wait up!"

Silver stared blankly again, as only Tails' toes touched the ground while his twin tails spun like helicopter blades, propelling him forwards. Why hadn't he even questioned them before?

Silver looked expectedly at Knuckles.  
"Well, what are you going to do, teleport?"

Sonic made it to the first manhole so fast he overshot it by fifteen feet. By the time he had stopped and doubled back, slower, Tails had caught up.

The sirens were much louder now.

"Wow, wonder if it's a fire, or bank robber or something?" asked Tails.

"Time to find out." Sonic quickly scaled the ladder up, and with ease pushed away the metal manhole.

At first the sunlight seared his eyes. Nonetheless he jumped onto the surface, then immediately ducked as what he initially thought was a jet-fighter zoomed overhead.

Clutching his ears from the mind-bending noise, he squinted into the light's glare to find what on Mobius was flying so low.

"Sonic!" cried Tails as he flew out of the manhole, "It's Metal!"

"Yeah, I can see that, Tails," said Sonic, squinting into the glare of the sun where Metal Sonic had disappeared.

"I thought you said he was…well, dead!"

"SuperSonic tore him in half! Yeah, I thought he was dead!" exclaimed Sonic.

They waited, the sirens keeping their senses taut, but no further disturbances transpired.

"I don't believe it. He bounced!"

It was Silver's turn to exit the manhole, and Knuckles straight after him. Silver's psychokinesis appeared identical to his brother's.

Sonic took a moment to assess their surroundings. Towering skyscrapers surrounded them, even larger ones were to the east, where the sirens came from. Dozens of humans populated the streets, many still looking for the mysterious noise that that had so terrified them previously.

"Who bounced?" asked Knuckles.

"Metal."

"What?" –

"We need to check out the damage he did. C',mon, Tails!" Sonic had barely finished his sentence when he began running.

"Right!"

Again, Silver boggled at Sonic's speed.

"C'mon," grumbled Knuckles, dragging Silver by the arm.

As the sirens grew louder and they approached, weaving within the heavy traffic, GUN HQ appeared as the cause of the commotion. They reached a blockade of police officers holding back the crowd eager to get a glimpse of the damage.

GUN HQ was an architectural wonder, proof of the substantial amount of funding the organisation received from the United Federation's government. Water was pumped from the ocean to create a moat around the main tower, and rivers ran throughout and around the buildings. The water weaved around the buildings in the clear shape of a 'G'. The most noticeable part of the HQ was the large, black tower, built so that it looked, to Sonic, like a cylindrical waffle cone, except waffle cones don't look formidable. Sharp layers overlapped each other, rotating around the tower in an anti-clockwise direction, silver supports could be seen flowing with the direction of the tower, and each layer acted as a superfluous, tinted window. At the top a humongous, sharp-edged but softly curved triangle of glass shot upwards above the rest of the building. On the side of the ridiculously high structure a small-in-comparison high-speed elevator shaft with glass walls could just be made out.

"Where'd Sonic and Tails go?" asked Silver, still staring at the building.

"Who knows. C'mon, let's get a bite to eat." Knuckles turned back the way they'd came, away from the crowd.

"What!? Right now? Shouldn't we see what's happened?"

"Do you care?" asked Knuckles over his shoulder.

"Nickel" -

"I was having a pretty good day. The emerald's were safe, the Master Emerald was doing fine, then Sonic rocks up and all hell breaks loose. I'm tired and I want to eat, we're not going anywhere until Tails finds a plane anyway."

"Aren't we wanted by GUN?"

"Sonic's clearly forgotten that. Just leave him to it."

Silver grimaced, then followed. "I guess I don't really owe these people anything anyway…"

Knuckles nodded at the logic, "Chun-anese or Shamarite?"

"These people just don't look up," said Sonic in amazement, holding onto Tails' feet as he took them over the blockade.

"Sonic, look! It's Shadow and" – Tails gasped, "The Commander!"

Away from the front entrance, around the side of the enormous building, nearly a dozen bodyguards could be seen ferrying their cargo. Shadow could only be seen from their vantage point, dwarved by the burly humans around him. They were heading for a black armoured van, but through them Sonic could see part of the Commander's face was covered in blood.

They may have gotten past the police, but the trained agents spotted them easily.

Luckily so did Shadow. Tails dropped altitude immediately as a handful or so of the agents whipped handguns from their holsters, dropping Sonic while he dove for cover.

Sonic thought he heard Shadow cry, "Leave them, focus on the Chief!"

Tails hot on his heels, Sonic ran for the van as the Commander, Shadow and a few of the security climbed in. The remaining security tried to stop Sonic and Tails. Sonic just vaulted himself over ones head, Tails slipped through the same one's legs. Both piled into the van.

"Hi, bud, we need a plane."

"Get them out!" shrieked one of the security guards, making to stand.

"Forget it, we don't want a scene! _Let's move!" _

The van's doors shut, and with a squeal of the tires they were moving.

There were six of them inside in total, not including whoever was driving. The human security scowled at both them and Shadow, one of them holding makeshift bandages to the Commander's head wound. There was no room for Sonic and Tails to sit.

"What happened to him?" asked Sonic, indicating the Commander. A tall man, his knees jutted out awkwardly. "We just saw Metal Me."

This was apparently news to Shadow. He shook his head and growled, "Well, that was only a matter of time."  
Tails gasped, "It wasn't the one we destroyed yesterday, was it? Robotnik's activated the old one…" Tails looked to Sonic, "Why?"

Shadow barked, "Where's the brother?"

"Don't know."

"Just forget Metal. Do you want a plane or not?" snapped Shadow.

The Commander barked, "Enough!" and silence fell. Sonic and Tails were constantly at risk of falling into one of them – the driver drove like a maniac.

"Are you two aware of what that thing was that did this to me?" asked the Commander sharply.  
"Metal? Yeah, we beat him for you a few years ago, remember?"  
"It wasn't Metal," said Shadow, tersely.  
Sonic looked taken aback. This day was becoming just as strange as the last.

"We're not sure, sir," answered Tails, "Maybe we could help if you explained further?"

A moment of quiet, then Shadow said, "It could… change its shape. It needed to escape and it… grew what it needed. It grew a pair of wings right out of its back before my eyes." He looked as if he held back a curse.

"It looked a bit like a hedgehog?"

"You know of it?"  
"As of about six hours ago. We think he's hunting Nickel."  
"The boy with Robotnik…"

Shadow looked Sonic in the eye. "Sonic, whatever he is, your Echidna friend needs to give up whatever he knows on the emeralds."  
"Why?"

"Because he had one in his _head_," snapped Shadow, "I don't know what he is, but he was physically part of the emerald."

He shook his head in disappointment. "And he stole GUN's."  
"Ha! Oh, I mean… that's- that's bad!"  
"We know." growled Shadow tersely. His eyes narrowed, "I've never seen anything like it. Like some kind of hybrid, hedgehog-like but with scales."  
Inspiration jerked Sonic, "Wait – like Black Arms?"  
"I… don't know."  
"Jeez, Silver and Nickel really stumbled into something here," said Sonic, rubbing his chin.

Shadow's scowl immediately became a black glare at Sonic's nonchalance. "You two have literally have three seconds to tell me where that hedgehog is and what is going on" –

Again the Commander cut over Shadow.

"Is that boy a threat?"

"Um…" Sonic thought quickly, "no. He just wants Nickel – his brother, back. Away from Robotnik. They're connected to that snake-hybrid thing" –

"Nyx." said Tails.

"Yeah I know, buddy, thanks," sighed Sonic.

"Oh…"

"Look, but they're not on his side, okay? Just give Tails one of the _Tornado's _you've been working on, and we'll get to sorting this out. You can't deal with Silver and Nickel without upsetting your bosses or the public of whatever, we can get them off the scene and we can work to putting a leash on Nyx without stepping on each others toes. What happened last night didn't help either of us."

Shadow said, "Out of the question – sir!?"

The Commander had taken a notebook from inside his torn suit. With a pen from his front pocket he began to write. When he was finished he tore off the page.

"Take this to the Krovak Memorial airbase and give it to the CO."

As Tails reached for it, the Commander whipped it back. His ice-blue eyes, one covered in blood, bore into them, "I'm giving this to you as a gesture of good will, for all the generosity and patience you have given this state, in times when we were less than open to communication." He nodded to his bodyguards and passed Tails the single page.

"Now get them out."

11

11


	14. Chapter 13 - Nyx Appears

13

Search and Rescue

Chapter 13

_Nyx Appears_

"How long is Tails gonna be, I'm starving!" complained Sonic.

"It's a little thing they invented after the stone-age, it's called 'politeness'," said Knuckles, not taking the bait.

"Whatever happened to good old 2, 4, 6, 8 hog in don't wait?" asked Sonic, trying again.

Knuckles finally burst, "Etiquette! We waited for you!"

"Dude! You forgot you didn't have the card!"

Sonic waved the flat card, smaller than most, in Knuckles' face, and this time Silver snatched it from his hands.

They sat in a café on the riverfront. Being a weekend it was fairly busy. The debacle that had happened at GUN HQ was being televised on the in-store TV, and was the topic of frantic conversation amongst everybody but the three of them.

Sitting in his cushioned wicker chair, Silver read the card.

"Hedgehog Airlines. Card holder, Board Member Exec. S. Hedgehog." Silver stared at Sonic, "You own an airline!?"

"No, Sonia the Hedgehog does," said Sonic, taking the card back.

"Who's she, your girlfriend."  
"No, she's my _mother_."

"Well why don't we just… take one of her planes?"

"Well, I'm not technically, y'know, exactly meant to be" -

Knuckles spoke up, "It's a commercial liner – are you sure Tails was okay to go on his own?"

"Yes! But I'm getting to the point where I'm going to have to go after – hey! There we go!"

Both Knuckles and Sonic's wrist-comms had begun bleeping. A text from Tails read that he was ok, and would come find then in roughly –

"An hour and a half! Right, I'm ordering." Sonic roughly got up and made for the counter. Knuckles did not stop him.

"What's Tails doing?" asked Silver.

Looking down at the device on his wrist, Knuckles replied, "Says he's working on the plane – we're lucky we're not going to be stuck here longer or we'd fall too far behind Eggman."

"I want to look at… a map… something. Please, you've got to give me some context here: who's that man that's got Nickel? Who are those people, GUN? And what on Mobius is that 'Metal' you were talking about with Sonic?"

Knuckles queried, "You're from the future, Silver, but not that far, surely you'd recognise the name 'Robotnik'?"

Silver gave him a strange look, but not like he had no idea what Knuckles was talking about. Eventually Knuckles relented.

"Fine, be like that. But I guess it's good you're cautious, wouldn't want to give too much away." Knuckles cleared his throat and leaned forwards, "But, in case your history _is_ fuzzy, Eggman, or Dr Ivo Robotnik, used to be the dictator of about a third of the world only half a decade ago. Sonic, myself and Tails had a hand throwing him out, so did GUN."  
Still in line at the counter, Sonic tapped his shoes and muttered, "Yeah, but they came late to the party."

-"Hey! Can I help you?"

"Hi, can I have a…"

-"Now, he's still got territory on the Central Continent, but he's weakening," said Knuckles, "his tactics changed after we won the war. Now he leaves his territory mostly under automatic control and spends most of his time digging around for ways to win quick. Simply, he has no intention of going down without a fight, hence Egg Carriers and the mass-produced robots."

"You were in a war?" asked Silver, eyes wide.

Knuckles nodded, holding Silver's eye until he became aware of the weight of the issue, and so overrode his curiosity to switch the subject.

"But the Egg Carrier is destroyed now right? Does that damage him?"

Knuckles just shrugged. "We have no idea. Hopefully there's less than a half dozen left by now. And as you saw last night, their size is beginning to become their weakness."

"And..." Silver quickly picked another of his many, many questions, "why are there no anthrohumans around here?"

"Well, this is the United Federation – Central City. The same way you'd find more hedgehogs, foxes and badgers in the Hazel Kingdom you'll find more humans here."

"Ok…" Silver twisted in his chair to look at the counter where Sonic was ordering, "why is he blue?" – Silver blinked, but then relaxed. For a moment, Sonic had not been blue, but brown. Trick of the light. "And he can run like… it's not natural."

Knuckles chuckled, "Now that's a long story."

"What's a long story?" asked Sonic, plonking the table number down on the glass, "We have an hour and a half."

"Why are you blue, and why can you run like that?" Silver said quickly, "And what's with your… erm, brother?"

"Tails? He was born like that, it's his brain you have to watch out for."

"And you?"

"Ah," Sonic leaned back smarmily, looking at Knuckles, and smiled.

"Sonic, no!" said Knuckles firmly.

"C'mon, Knux, he's gonna be here awhile."

"I don't – oh, whatever."

Sonic pulled off a glove. His hands were wrapped like a boxer's. A few thin gold rings fitted on his fingers, one of which he slid off.

"Ok, so this is actually a Power Ring, but it's part of a larger set of… energy things, called Magic Rings. This one is just a very concentrated version."

Their drinks arrived. Silver barely noticed Sonic momentarily conceal the ring in his fist.

When the waitress left, he continued, "Ok, so these rings literally 'grow' in specific points around the world."

"Are those… emeralds connected to this?"

"Absolutely. Which is why this Nyx guy having one in his _head _is kind of a big deal."

"A… big, bad deal?" tested Silver.

Knuckles said, "Might be, he's after the emeralds and he's not doing it diplomatically, judging on how he bashed his way into GUN."

"Ah, we'll deal with him. So - Magic Rings," Sonic casually veered the subject back to himself, "is what I rely on, to, you know, not die when I fall over at 400kph. I can absorb their residue, which is, um" –

"0.01% energy of the Magic Ring it came from," said Knuckles, "Roughly."

"Right. So that residue acts as something like a buffer between me and serious harm, get it? Part of the Robotnik War was Robotnik stealing a lot of these Rings and _all _their power using them to cheaply power his own machines – part of what we did," indicating himself and Knuckles, "was breaking those machines and stealing the rings. 'Course, we didn't know their awesome side-effects back then…"

"And so, they're the reason you can run so fast?"

"What? No – that's um… you know we still have no idea exactly why that is, something to with my Dad and Mum's mum having the ability as well, so that's genetic. No idea why they thought that was a good gene pool to be splashing about it. Tails basically engineers my shoes and has a guy in Spagonia make them, so my feet don't burn up or, well," Sonic laughed as if it was humorous, "liquefy, when I'm running so fast."

"What about me?" Knuckles asked suddenly.

"What about you?" Sonic and Silver asked at the same time.

"Well, don't I look a little… strange?" Knuckles asked to Silver. When Silver on stared at him nonplussed, he encouraged a response, "maybe not something you've seen before."

"No… you look like an Echidna to me…"

The response was like a child discovering they had received a unicorn for Christmas, except the Knuckles version. Sonic could almost feel the joy radiating off him as he straightened, sweeping his hands over his head with joy, a massive smile plastered over his face.

"Easy, big guy" –

"Easy!? There are Echidnas in the future! We don't die! That's unbelievable – _how!?_" He looked to Silver expectantly, then took control of himself again. "No, I guess you can't tell me." Looking jubilant, he leant back, "I guess I'll find out!"

Sonic laughed as their food arrived. Two steaming chilli-dogs for him, and humongous burgers for Silver and Knuckles.

Taking a brave bite, Sonic wasted no time. Silver was a little more courteous, and watched the strange pair through wary eyes as the three of them ate.

"Can a lot of people run like you?" he asked, mid-meal.

Sonic, buried in the chilli-dog, shook his head.

"Were you born blue?" Silver asked skeptically.

Sonic shook his head again. "Waa e-ical acshon."

Irritated, Silver said. "What?"

Knuckles stepped in, though more out of exasperation than helpfulness, "It was a reaction that happened when he hit the sound barrier, we think to do with Magic Rings he inherited through his parents – and don't talk to him when he's eating it's disgusting."

Silver stared at Sonic for a moment. Then said, "Sorry, for a second I thought you said the _sound barrier_."

"I did," said Knuckles, seriously.

Silver shook his head before taking another bite, "You people are easily the most interesting I have ever met – and that's assuming I believe half of what you're saying."

Sonic swallowed with some difficulty and said, "Yeah, well, speak for yourself, look at you. You move things without touching them." He indicated Silver's gloves, "It's got something to do with them, right?"

"Sort of," Silver pointed to the cyan veins that resembled a circuit-board, pooling in a concentrated form in the shape of a circle on the back of his palm, "These just amplify and channel the kinesis – in my case psychokinesis… you don't have kinetics here?"

Sonic finally swallowed with the help of two-thirds of his drink, and act that looked painful to Silver. Licking sauce of his fingers, he said, "No – jeez you are really rough on your history. We've never heard of it before. What's it used for?"  
The question seemed to throw Silver, "Um, well, not for combat. It's banned."

"Banned?" asked Sonic, curiously, "You don't know how to fight with it?"

"Excuse him," said Knuckles, "If you can't use something to punch or otherwise maim robots Sonic sees little use in it."

"Its uses are in lifting, safety. Obviously throwing people around is an easy adaptation… I'm just not used to it. People feel different to metal or concrete."  
Sonic laughed as the sudden mental image of Silver in a yellow hard hat flashed across his mind's eye. "So everybody where you come from can hurl objects twice their weight around just by thinking it?"

"N-no, no not everyone. Only a really small percent of people have natural ability to do more than lift a pebble or heat something up a few degrees or maybe encourage something to grow faster – even fewer are willing to study and train like myself and Nickel," – Silver suddenly looked down at his meal as if dumbstruck.

"Oh, what am I doing!?" he snapped, standing. His chair would have fallen straight to the floor, if he had not, with a sweep of his hand, righted it with the use of his psychokinesis. Wasting no time he strode from the restaurant.

"Silver!" Knuckles shouted, darting after him.

Sonic took two more ambitious bites of his meal, trying to finish as much as he could, and ignoring the stares reluctantly followed.

The sunshine was bright outside, and the riverfront was now packed. They only came up to the waists of the humans, who towered over them.

Ahead, Knuckles shouted, "Silver! What are you doing!?"

Silver didn't stop, "I'm going after Nickel!"

"Are you?" said Sonic, sounding amused. He put on enough speed to catch up, agilely darting through the forest of jeans, skirts and work pants, "You're going after an Egg-Carrier?"

"He's been kidnapped by that madman, and I'm sitting here eating _lunch_!"

Sonic chuckled at that. Amiably he quickstepped in front of Silver, stopping the hedgehog in his tracks.

"Get out of my" -

- "I'm Sonic the Hedgehog, some like to call me 'hero of Mobius'" –

"Oh by the Trinity," sighed Knuckle with sheer derision.

- "and the fastest guy on the planet, nice to meet you. _He_," pointing at Knuckles, "can lift a _fire-truck_!"

"Whoopee do, so can I," snarled Silver, "now get out of my way!"

"_You_," Sonic put an arm out, again bring Silver to a halt, "are two hundred years out of your league, have no idea where to go, and can't go free Nickel all on your onesies, and _I _can't go helping you on an empty stomach, that and Nickel needs to trust me not crush me so you're part of the equation, buddy."

"I found my own way from Hill Top to the Egg Carrier," said Silver stoutly.

"And from there thirty-thousand feet down to the ocean, too," said Sonic, sarcastically flattering, "We need a plane and we need it in perfect condition if we're going after an _Egg Falcon. _They're fast, and just because they're smaller than an Egg Carrier doesn't mean they won't pack a punch if you get in their way."

Silver demanded, "Do you have _any _idea how ridiculous you sound!?"

"Look, we can do this but we need all the help we can get. We're stronger together than alone and I just don't do solo missions anymore; I start talking to myself and it's never as much fun if no-ones around to see me do my hero thing."

"Oh my" – Knuckles shoved Sonic out of the way to look Silver in the eye, "_come with us_, or I _swear _I will kill him this time!"

Silver's tantrum abated, and he decided to stay with the trio – the third of which finally arrived by late afternoon. The new plane, christened in fresh yellow paint '_Tornado MKII'_, looked all but identical to the original, but Tails seemed to think there was plenty of additions within the systems computers. But there was no longer a transformation process, rather the _Tornado MKII _was permanently in its battle-mode. Presumably GUN saw no need for a vintage bi-plane.

"Which means part of the fun's gone…" explained Tails sadly, at one point.

"Why? Because you can't scream 'battle-mode engaged' before you shoot something?" laughed Sonic.

"U-huh…."

When Tails had picked them up (in the middle of a pedestrian street), Sonic clicked to the problem as soon as he saw Tails' face. This _Tornado _still only had a pilot seat, a passenger and manual turret control. Which left one of them without a spot. Sonic first resigned himself to holding onto the _Tornado's _wings as they flew, but Silver had a trick.

"It doesn't matter, I can just hold the _Tornado_," said Silver. At first Sonic thought he meant the way Sonic himself would – which was impossible but for very few people – but Silver simply stretched out a hand and with psychokinesis anchored himself to a few square inches of the _Tornado_. His whole body seemed to float, his spines and fur experiencing no gravity even though his feet still touched the ground.

"There, as long as I hold on no matter how fast you go I'll experience no wind pressure. Go high enough and I'll probably still suffocate…"

"What about temperature?" asked Tails, "There's only one thermal jacket in the _Tornado…_" he nodded to Sonic, "I guess we could just go buy another one…"

"No problem," said Silver, "This psychokinetic coat negates air temperature – not completely, but unless we're planning on going to the North Pole I won't feel much."

"Handy."

And then they were in the air, with Central City far behind them. They rose fast, losing their stomachs as the plane tore into the blue sky. Like Tails, Sonic sat within a cocoon of red metal and computers, though not on his belly like the ecstatic fox. Tails happily railed off a list of new functions this _Tornado _boasted; stronger cloaking, more efficient manoeuvering, but little else meant anything to Sonic.

Tails explained the reason he had taken so long was that he had needed to fly his new toy to what remained of his workshop, rip out the entire engine and replace it with one that ran on Magic Rings. Now, with a full tank, they could finally pursue the Egg Carrier.

"_And about that," _said Knuckles, _"How exactly are we going to find it?"_

Tails replied, _"Well, we're not. But, I think I have an idea where it might be going…_"

Sonic got there first, _"You've found an emerald!"_

"_Well, I hope so. A volcano that was meant to be dormant in Azure Lake Zone has just begun erupting."_

"_That Zone off Holoska?" _said Knuckles.

Sonic laughed, "Yeah I think Spagonia just kinda gave it up after the War, man, we haven't been there in ages!" He frowned, "You know we probably should make Silver a wrist-comm."

Tails mused, _"I really like Azure Lake Zone. It's cold, but really beautiful."_

"_Well, a volcano erupting that shouldn't be erupting certainly sounds like there's an emerald somewhere nearby."_

"Will getting the emerald stop the eruption?" asked Sonic concernedly.

"_If the volcano isn't far enough along, maybe. But that's the least of our problems. Sonic, we need some kind of battle strategy here – we can't have another surprise like to the Egg Carrier. Supersonic or a rail gun won't be around to save us this time. And I think the only reason it didn't go all out at Central, I think, is because somehow Robotnik knew GUN had rail technology…"_

"I know, buddy," replied Sonic, "But now we have Silver, he's got powers nothing on this world has ever seen before! That's gotta count for something."

Knuckles spoke up, _"Sonic, he said he didn't know how to fight with it?"_

"What's so difficult about throwing things around with your mind?" asked Sonic, knowing Silver could not hear them, "He'll manage."

"_Not much against a laser_," muttered Tails, _"And Azure Zone is amazing but it sure hasn't got a rail gun... I want a rail gun."_

"Well, if I just had to plan ahead I'd say: avoid Carriers at all costs."

"_Sounds good to me. A Falcon shouldn't be too bad."_

The flight to Azure Lake zone would take about six hours, allowing them to catch up on sleep. The _Tornado MKII _travelled fast, leaving five streams of green in the sky. They were soon far into the Atlantic, stopping only once mid-flight to put Knuckles in a thermal suit.

It was well into the afternoon by the time Azure Lake zone appeared on the horizon. A picturesque zone defined by its beautiful lakes, snowy mountains and the grand show of the northern lights. Of course, this time something marred the landscape.

…"_Sonic, wake-up._"

Immediately, the hedgehog perked up. "Yeah, what's up, buddy?"

"_Take a look._"

One of the blank screens tuned to a poor quality camera shot on the _Tornado MKII's _nose.

"Yay… snow," said Sonic in a depressed tone.

Knuckles said, _"Sonic, look up."_

Tails did it for him, angling the nose up slightly.

"Oh."

The cloud of dust and smoke over the zone, hanging in the crisp blue sky was simply immense, a behemoth of voluminous black, grey and white clouds. It would be visible from Spagonia. The afternoon sun shone through it like a dying lamp.

"That's a lot of smoke," commented Sonic.

"_This could be more dangerous than we considered," _said Tails _"the good news is that I can't see a floating superstructure anywhere. The bad news is I can see a lot of E-Series activity down at the Zone, it's a fair assumption" –_

"Wait," interrupted Sonic, "there's robots down there?"

"_Yeah, the _Tornado's _picking up a couple dozen – whoa, Silver!"_

Sonic saw it through one of the cameras. Silver had launched himself from the _Tornado MKII _down to the island.

"What's he doing?"

"_No idea, we never gave him a wrist-comm. Oh well, I'm just glad there'd definitely no more Egg Carriers in the area!"_

Tails guided the plane down after Silver, who was not so much flying as quickly gliding down to the ground.

Most of Azure Lake zone was uninhabited by people, and they touched down far away from cities or roads.

Sonic squinted as the bright sunlight flooded the _Tornado's _passenger cabin. Cracking his neck he leapt out over the side, shoes crunching onto the hard gravel and short, dewy grass.

Azure Lake was the absolute epitome of picturesque, and Sonic nearly forgot about Silver as he looked out across a vast lake bordered by undulating grey terrain. Its rivers wound downhill into towering mountains – the caps would normally be white with autumn snow, except now they were obscured by grey and black smoke.

"We're really really close to that volcano," commented Sonic. He toed the ground, muttering, "This is really good running track." His joints ached from hours in the cabin, and he itched for an explosive sprint.

"Tails," said Knuckles, "Get back in the air, we might need you ready." He looked towards the volcano, "I feel like it's here…"

"Like, spongy but firm…"

"Sonic, focus" –

"You focus on finding the emerald with your Echidna voodoo, I'm goin' after Silver and Nickel."

"Wai – and he's gone." Knuckles raised both arms to protect his eyes from the sudden blast of dust and gravel that erupted around him.

Tails spoke through their wrist-comms, which Sonic was probably no longer listening to, _"I'm surprised he made it six hours stationary in that chair, to be honest. Knuckles, I have to stay low to the ground, and it's probably best if I keep our communications to a minimum. If Robotnik works out we're here" –_

"Yeah because they're gonna miss _him _tearing up the countryside" –

"_Look, I'll cover you and monitor the situation from above. Tails out."_

Knuckles couldn't help but watch interestedly as the _Tornado MKII _seem to melt into the air, copying the colours and textures of the environment around it. It was still far from invisible from Knuckles' perspective, but it would certainly camouflage itself from a distance.

"Right," muttered Knuckles to himself, "So much for sticking together. Now…" He surveyed the landscape carefully, ignoring the biting cold, "Where are you?"

He had never asked another Echidna if his ability to sense the emeralds was genetic, or something else. It was much too late now given he was the sole remaining member of his race, with no mentors, teachers or masters to turn to. Upon proximity he could feel the emeralds like he could one of his limbs. With distance, it became a tug on his brain. He described it that the same way others felt hungry or thirsty, he felt the emerald's presence. It did not mean he could pinpoint their exact location, or judge if they were being manhandled or if somebody was attempting to damage them, just their rough location. Sonic often teased him for having a 'voodoo GPS' inside his head, but with the frequency Sonic himself seemed to stumble upon the emeralds, Knuckles wondered to what extent Sonic himself could actively search for the emeralds.

He began walking, following the tug. Downhill, through the tall trees naked of underbrush, to the lakeside. From there he began jogging. Sure footed amongst the deep bracken and steep bank, Knuckles followed the lake's edge. He saw nothing of Sonic or Tails, though he thought he heard revving engines dissimilar from cars from afar.

After half an hour, mountains towered about him, and he followed a thin river winding downhill. The going would be steep and dangerous, but he knew he was on the right track.

The river had turned into a sharp but small ravine by the time he felt he was closing in on the emerald. The crystal clear water frothed as it cut through the earth, roots of trees poking through the exposed bank.

The earth began to tremor beneath his feet. He instinctively dropped to a crouch, looking for objects that could fall and harm him, but the tremors stopped after mere seconds.

Looking up, the smoke-clogged sky looked no different. Afternoon sunlight fractured through the smoke, turning it the colour of blood.

"_Knuckles? Are you okay?" _came a small voice from his wrist.

Knuckles lifted the watch closer to his face to hear better. "Yeah, Tails, I'm fine. What happened?"

"_The pressure is building up in the volcano, it just blew a hole in the side of the mountain! It sounds worse than it is, it's a small landslide compared to how bad this is going to get if we don't find that emerald."_

"Something's not right. Storms, choppy weather, animals migrating weird, plants growing in strange place, that's what we'd normally expect. I wouldn't expect this from one emerald!"

"_Well, I think I have a theory, but I want to get off the air. Be careful, Knux, and I wouldn't go any further north than you already are, emergency warnings classify this whole area as volatile."_

Tails cut the transmission, just as a particularly powerful tug near-physically swung him back in the direction of the ravine. On the other side of the small river, a tree that stood straight and healthy had an unexplainable chunk missing from its trunk about three feet long.

"Gotcha," smiled Knuckles, congratulating himself facetiously.

He had taken one step forward when somebody yelled, "Knuckles, move!"

He swiftly shifted his weight onto the side with which he had taken the first step, letting his body fall into a roll, just as something green and fast rocketed past. He saw one hand, five fingers covered in scales, pass inches from his face.

He heard Sonic burst out laughing behind him.

"Man, did you mean to do that or did you just fall over!?"

"Sonic! Where" – Knuckles cut off as he laid eyes on Nyx.

His physique was of a full-grown anthrohuman. Green, snakelike scales covered his entire body, and a bush of sharp, spiny quills concealed the back of his head, stretching past his shoulder blades and to his lower back rather like a hedgehog. Shadow was right; he didn't look like Black Arms, but he was of no anthrohuman known to Mobius either.

And above his eyes in the centre of his forehead a sliver of the green Chaos emerald protruded.

Knuckles was flabbergasted. He looked over his shoulder, was hit with another blast of surprise to find Sonic right behind him.  
"Wha" –

"He's been following you for awhile, haven't you snake-face?"

"Sonic." Nyx acknowledged him. His gold eyes were intense. He cocked his head, "Good to see you again."

Sonic looked slightly taken aback.

"Sorry, I… what?" But Sonic trailed off. They both watched, mouths open, as the red emerald, glistening from a coat of wet Azure-lake rainwater, floated from somewhere in the fast-flowing stream to Nyx's outstretched hand. Sonic waited to see if this strange creature would assimilate the emerald like the Guardian Chaos would. Instead, like he or Knuckles would, he just absorbed it into his person.

Knuckes was still shocked at how Nyx had manoeuvred the emerald.

"Did… did you… who _are_ you?" asked Knuckles, shocked.

Nyx ignored him.

Sonic was past the point in his life when he stopped counting the surprises in a day, but this certainly stood out. Morphing out of Nyx's back came a giant pair of bat-like wings. The membrane was a lighter green than the scales that protected the bone.  
And they were strong. A fierce wing buffeted Sonic and Knuckles, and pelleted heavy soil at them like bullets. In an instant Nyx was already high above them, riding purely on the power of the first sweep.  
Straight into Tails.

Sonic liked to think it was on purpose that Tails casually flew into Nyx as he rose into the air, but it was much more likely that neither of them could see the other. Catching one of Nyx's wings, the _Tornado MKII_'s cloaking system failed and it erroneously dropped a few feet in shock. Nyx was by far the worse off, and tumbled through the air with only one wing to stabilise him.

"Haha!" cheered Sonic, he flicked on his wrist comm., and said, "Nice job, buddy. We'll go get that emerald."

"_Uh, sure, Sonic,_" replied Tails, then _"Uh-oh."  
_"Oh great, what!? Don't tell me the volcano just got worse." said Knuckles exasperatedly. Both he and Sonic had broken into a run, heading in the direction Nyx looked likely to land. The terrain was steeply downhill.

"_Nope. Worse. Incoming E-series, possibly two-dozen of them coming to investigate. I'll play rabbit. Get the emerald."_

Tails kept his cloaking down; in fact, he put a siren on. Screaming for attention, the _Tornado MKII _tore through the air in the direction of the incoming robots.  
"Knux," called Sonic as they ran, "Did Aristole or Chinoquie ever do what he just did? Move the emerald like that?"  
"Well, no, but you can. So can Shadow."

"Yeah, only before we're about to go Super. And I can't even explain it, but I know it wouldn't work unless they were… in agreement. So what is he?"

"No idea!" Knuckles shouted, "But he's not an Echidna… looks more like a hedgehog!"

They had made their way into more rocky terrain, and when they reached a sheer rise Sonic realised their disadvantage.

Nyx was now in sight. With the help of his powerful wings he scaled the twenty-foot outcropping. The rock was wet and slippery, and both Knuckles and Sonic halted.

"Hey!" shouted Sonic, cupping his hands around to his mouth. "Why are you running!?"

Nyx disappeared over the top.

"Gone," said Knuckles, throwing his arms wide, "great!

"He's not much for diplomacy, that's for sure. We'll have to find a way around."

Silver's heart was beating so hard he felt like he was about to throw up. His breathing came through in wet, heavy pants from the excess saliva produced from his over-exertion. On top of it all his head pounded with the extended psychokinesis.  
He had dodged robots and difficult, steep terrain, and with every obstacle he overcame he felt the pull of Nickel's mind grow stronger.

He broke from sparse trees to roughly undulating hills, the grass a mild yellow-green. Mossy rocks of varying sizes dotted the landscape. In the distance was a still lake and beyond it towering mountains loomed. It would have been a peaceful view if not for the toxic volcanic ash that spread across the sky. It blocked the afternoon sun, turning the smoke the colour of blood.  
Squads of robots zoomed across the sky like some futuristic nightmare. The flew in a close diamond formation, their lanky legs dangling beneath them like hornets.

Suddenly, four dived to the ground, disappearing behind a knoll.

And were thrown back by a cyan wave of energy.

Silver's eyed widened. "Nickel!"

He broke into a run; he didn't have the energy to fly anymore. More robots dived, eight, then twelve. Nickel couldn't hold them all back.

"Nickel! I'm coming!" he cried, sprinting as hard as he could.

He had reached the knoll. He didn't even look at what was below, only saw a ten feet drop that would take too long to climb around. But heights had never been a problem to a Psychokinetic.

Without stopping he leapt.

Nickel was exhausted. Limbs heavy and brain pounding, nose bleeding from the pressure of his psychokinesis, he had been almost ready to accept defeat. The tall, silver robots were closing in. They had never shot at him, just used sheer numbers. He had tired himself out trying to make them keep their distance. Cradling the Rainbow emerald close, he threw out one final, feeble wave of psychokinesis.

But somehow it became something immensely powerful, a solid wall of energy that didn't just throw the robots away but tore them apart.

He hadn't done that.

A smile broke on his face. He whipped around.

"_Silv_" – The same, albeit less powerful wall of energy threw him onto his back. He remained there, dazed.

Without the all-encompassing panic of an Egg Carrier to contextualise their reunion, Silver poured his frustration away. "Do you have any idea how worried I've been!? Do you know what you've gotten us into!? You better still have that rotten rock so we can get home!"

Head spinning, he summoned enough self-control to hold up the Rainbow emerald in response. Silver's attitude seemed to have changed since their quick reunion on the Egg Carrier.  
Silver stomped into his field of view. He looked cross. His topaz eyes glared at him sharply, his mouth clamped into a thin line.

"I thought you'd be happy to see me," winced Nickel. Silver rolled his eyes once, outstretched a hand and helped him to his feet. He checked the skies to make sure they were still safe, and gave Nickel a quick hug and another brotherly punch.

"Of course I am," agreed Silver honestly, and for the first time in nearly two days Nickel felt safe.

13


	15. Chapter 14 - The Next Leg

Search and Rescue

Chapter 14

_The Next Leg_

Just a few years after the Robotnik War, Robotnik's power had waned considerably. Spagonia, the country that had borne the brunt of his attempted military conquest and the eventual rebellion, was only a very small sea away to the east. And with Robotnik's presence in the U.F, the Tri-Alliance was now active (though days from expiry). This in mind, it was not a surprise that Robotnik's jumbo-jet sized craft left Azure Lake Zone soon after it arrived, rising far into the stratosphere.

With it went the robots hounding Azure Lake Zone, now smothered by volcanic smoke that had drawn world-wide media attention.

Similarly, Nyx had gotten away with the red emerald. Sonic, Tails and Knuckles had no idea whether his wings were powerful enough to take him to Spagonia, the closest mainland, but Tails was forced to call off the search after a thorough four-hour investigation. Between this and the flight from Central, Tails thought it was fair to call his body exhausted. While he scoured the island, Sonic and Knuckles had found Silver and Nickel amongst a heap of robot rubble.

Sprinting hard across the plain, looking hard for a single last robot he might be able to spindash, Sonic had found them sitting underneath a rocky outcropping surrounded by metallic debris. He happily veered in their direction, kicking soil, grass and pebbles high into the air in his wake. They had seen him coming, and stood as he rolled to a sharp stop.

Brushing grass off himself, Sonic said, "Eggman got away, your friend Nyx got away, the emerald got away – but, hey, nobody got nuked." He toed a robot's decapitated head, observing the way it had been rend apart. "Nice…"

"Was that a possibility?" asked Silver. But Sonic was already focused on Nickel. He didn't know how the boy had escaped the Egg Falcon (which Robotnik had obviously whisked him away in as Team Sonic had assumed), but secretly admired the resourcefulness it must have taken.

"'Sup, Nickel? Eggman treat you okay? Five-star treatment?" He did not hide his gloating.

Shame dominated Nickel's face. "Sonic, I am so, _so _sorry. I was… I was scared. I panicked. I made the wrong decision."

Sonic crossed his arms, a triumphant smile on this face. His disregard for Nickel's safety incensed Silver, who said firmly, "I think he gets it, Sonic."  
Now Nickel looked quizzical. "Wait, what? Silver, how do you" –

"I saved him with my psychokinesis back over Central" -

Sonic made a sound like he was hacking up a hairball

-"then we came all this way," continued Silver, "chasing Robotnik."

A hundred questions and apologies lit up in Nickel's eyes. Sonic waved both hands for quiet.

"It's freezing, let's find somewhere warm to bunk down for the night. Nickel, you're safe now." 

Sonic, Silver and Nickel hiked for an hour until Tails and Knuckles collected them in the _Tornado MKII_. Carskygg was the nearby town they touched down in, much to the surprise of the rugged-up locals. Tossing his mother's credit card out of his shoes to Tails, Sonic announced he was going to look for more Magic Rings. Before Tails or anybody else could stop him, Sonic had disappeared in a flurry of dirt, into the darkness. The night would have been well lit but for the lingering blanket of smoke across the night sky.

"He gets he's not going to be able see… at all." Said Knuckles, one foot on the hotels wooden first step. He could feel the cozy warmth radiating from inside.

"He'll be back in half an hour complaining as much," laughed Tails. He stepped past Knuckles to lead the way inside, "C'mon, let's grab a room."

Nickel and Silver were daunted by entering the hotel. It was full of anthrohumans, but the bar downstairs only contained rugged, older adults; lupines, bears, raccoons, and thick, furry cats. Tails strode over the wooden floorboards and plush green rug without hesitation, and had a room booked quickly from the desk manager.

They were about to head up the lift, when Tails turned back and said to the desk manager, "Oh, by the way a little later on a hedgehog's gonna come through asking for us. Feel free to send him up."

The lupine nodded, and resumed his duties, and Tails leapt into the lift as it shut.  
As it jolted up, Knuckles said, "You know, you probably should have specified what colour hedgehog…"  
"Why- oh..."  
Silver said worriedly, "That black hedgehog wouldn't be on our trail, would he?"

"That actually sounds feasible…" said Tails, then he shrugged. "We don't have anything to hide so there's no point running."

"GUN gave us permission to get you back." Knuckled acknowledged, nodding to Nickel for the boy's comfort. He stuck close to his brother, looking burnt out from the events of the past forty-eight hours. Perhaps taking some pity on him, Knuckles said with slight encouragement, "But you did most of the heavy lifting. You got off the Egg Falcon all on your own!"

The lift's wooden doors rattled open, and they strode out into the quiet hall. The thick carpet under their shoes muffled all sound in the gently-lit corridor.

Once past the old fashioned lock on their door (Tails struggled with the long metal key for several moments), they could see their room was just two beds and a couch, a single bathroom, fridge and TV. It had an Azure Lake Zone homeliness about it, the kind only locations which persisted in very cold climates achieve; the lighting was warm and the furniture plush.

"Be-ed," groaned Nickel, trudging forward to face-plant on the nearest.

Silver shook his head, and went to the fridge. Taking out an energy drink, he tossed it Nickel, who only stopped it centimeters before it would have got him in the face.  
"Hey!"

"No, you don't sleep until I get told what on Mobius I'm doing here! From the beginning." Silver sat on the opposite bed. He gestured at the energy drink, "Drink up."

Disgusted, Nickel cracked open the can, behind him the Rainbow Emerald appeared. After taking a sizeable swig he started, "I freaked out on Angel Island because… because I remembered what Nyx wants."

"Which is..?" prompted Knuckles.

"Me." Said Nickel, eyes wide with fear. "My control of this stone." The rainbow emerald appeared in his palms. "It's crazy, it was all too much… I couldn't think straight." He finished desperately, "I just wanted to find Silver and get back home."

Knuckles drew up a chair, Tails made himself in an armchair, curling his tails up around him for comfort.

Nickel sighed, resigning himself to the long story.  
"Back home, I got the Rainbow Emerald from… a museum. But it reacted to me. It was incredible, I'd never seen anything like it. I don't think my memory has fully returned – I can't remember exactly long ago I found it. The point I do remember is when Nyx turned up. We did nothing to antagonise him and we don't know him – he attacked us." He looked to Silver, "It was vicious…"

"Right," said Silver. "He came out of the blue."

"Silver helped fend him off, but it happened too fast…" Nickel looked like he was struggling to explain, "I felt the Rainbow emerald react. I think it sent us all back here…"

Knuckles spoke, "We think we have that figured out… which means theoretically we could send you two both home tonight."

"You could!" cried Silver and Nickel, suddenly electrified. Relief swept across their faces and lit up their eyes. It crushed Knuckles to tell them the truth.  
"I'm sorry… I said theoretically. I explained before to your brother that the Echidnas knew of time-travel and were capable of it through use of the emeralds. Somehow, and I hope it was an accident, you three initiated the reaction to send you back in time with use of the emeralds. But it's been outlawed for most of a millennia – Echidnas haven't even had electrical lighting or automotive transport for 150 years."

"But we could go home," said Silver with wonder, "It's possible?"

"Well, you got here, and somehow we've got to at least try to get you back home," said Tails, but he lowered his eyes, "But there's a lot to consider. That's entering the realm of causality… theoretical physics." He probably meant to sound sympathetic and cautious, but his tone was unmistakably inspired, "We have no idea if sending you back causes parallel worlds, or if it kills you because your atoms decompose and are recreated on the other side."

"Killed?" yelped Silver, "To get back home?" He gestured to Nickel, "But I _need _to get him home!"

Both Silver and Nickel turned grey as Tails' speculation hit home.

"Tails didn't mean that," said Knuckles. Ashamedly, Tails ducked his head in apology. Repairing the damage, Knuckles continued, "I can ask a friend of Tails' and Sonic's, an expert in anthropology, to take a look at Angel Island… _maybe_," he finished fiercely at Tails' excited gaze, "We don't even know how to time-travel. So maybe we can see if we can work out a technique before we start worrying about what we don't understand."

Still looking more than a little disturbed, Silver folded his arms and traded glanced with Nickel.

"So you still have no idea where Nyx came from?" asked Tails, attempting to put their conversation back on rails.  
Nickel shuddered, "No-ones ever tried, to, well, kill me before. And Nyx was just… I thought it was going to end right there. It would have, if not for Silver. But while we were fighting a reaction happened, I could feel the Rainbow Emerald had something to do with it but I hadn't much clue how to stop it. Next thing, I'm in Green Hill Zone."  
"And you ended up with Nyx in Hill Top." said Tails, nodding to Silver.

"Yeah, in the middle of a military compound. Not sure even you three can beat that for craziest two minutes."  
Knuckles smirked. Tails laughed a loud.  
Silver looked cross. "Really?"

"Yeah. I could think of a few: Station Square."

Tails offered, "That time we partnered _with _Eggman to take out Metal and we were all like quasi-Super."  
Knuckles said, "That party the Chaotix threw."  
"By Mauro – yes, dark-echidna aliens from outer space definitely beats giant water Chaos monster."  
"They do indeed."

Tail and Knuckles seemed to a share a second or so of careful reminiscing, then both looked expectantly at Nickel, and he jumped when he realised he was meant to continue.  
Exchanging looks with a bewildered Silver, Nickel went on.  
"R-right, well, you all know what happens from there. I panicked on Angel Island because I remembered… Nyx, I remembered I was in danger." He looked with sad eyes to Tails and Knuckles, his ears reddening, "I think now I was running from the safest place I could have been."

Knuckles had to keep himself from balking, but remained silent as Nickel continued, "I was weak. I'm so sorry, I ended up putting myself and everybody else in more danger."

"Another thing, how'd you get off the Egg Falcon?" asked Tails

Nickel genuinely smiled. "I was in a compartment really close to the outside of the hull. It took a few hours but I just pulled the metal apart with my psychokinesis. It didn't take him long to notice, but I just fell back to earth and angled towards land." He nodded to Silver, "The landing put me out cold for a few minutes."

Knuckles and Tails looked amazed, but Silver winced.

"Ow," he said, sympathetically.

"Amazing what you can do when you need to do it," answered Nickel.

"No, I did the same to get off the _Tornado_. And I moved a helicopter for nearly six hours trying to get to the Egg Carrier – that wasn't so bad, but I would have been in trouble if they'd tried to fight me. Guess they wanted to see where I was going. Then, when they finally tried to change my course with maybe two hundred metres to go to you on that ship, I tried to fly!"

"How far'd you make it!" gasped Nickel, his face a mixture of shock and delight.

"Further than I thought. I don't think I could have done it if I hadn't thought I'd die if I didn't make it."

Knuckles cut in, "You didn't make it, and you would have died if we hadn't saved you."

"But you got your memory back, and in the end nobody got hurt," Tails said, smiling warmly despite the sudden animosity that had grown on Silver's face. "Ok, so now we all know how you got here, what about Nyx? Motivations, weaknesses, anything?"

Now Nickel looked down, suddenly uncomfortable. "I know he's after… after me for the Rainbow Emerald. After that… nothing."

"Pass it here again," said Knuckles. Nickel gently tossed it, and continued as Knuckles examined the stone, now dull in his hands, "We can assume it's key to whatever he wants."

"Which includes collecting all the Chaos Emeralds?" asked Tails.  
"Guess so."  
Tails grinned and rested his head against the back of his chair, "That is so up our alley it's like it was by design."

"Can anybody do what Sonic did with all seven?" asked Nickel. Knuckles averted his eyes from the Rainbow emerald to glare at him sharply.

Tails answered for him, "No. Well, we don't really know. I mean, it should make sense that Knuckles could go Super – I mean he's an Echidna, the _last _Echidna, so technically that makes him Pachamacac _and_ Chief Guardian, but his abilities are restricted to enhanced strength and sensing the balance of Chaos energies filtered through the Master Emerald. But the only people we know that can are Sonic and Shadow."

"I guess Shadow kinda makes sense, being the son of Black Doom and all," muttered Knuckles.  
"Backing up!" said Silver, making a time-out symbol with his hands, "Say that again, but in a language I understand."

But Knuckles was already distracted. He passed the Rainbow emerald to Tails, "That is a Chaos emerald but it isn't. If the time travel theory is true, and I'll admit it's wild even by our standards, then it has to have capabilities of an emerald. But I can't absorb it, I can't activate it, I can't even sense it like I can the others."

"Here, Nickel."  
As soon as the emerald arrived back in Nickel's hands it regained its iridescent light and shone a myriad of colours. Knuckles huffed.

"It did react to the other seven," said Tails, "When Sonic brought it near the other seven back at my workshop it started a reaction only Nickel could stop."

Knuckles sighed, his eyes shifting back to Nickel. "And Silver? You can't get that rock to respond?"  
"I'm still back at pachamathingy and the Master Emerald, but no." Silver momentarily lifted the Rainbow emerald from Nickel's hands, demonstrating that at his touch too, the Rainbow emerald's luster faded, signaling its lack of a compatible receiver.

"Mmh," grunted Knuckles. "This isn't right."  
"Why?" asked Tails.

"There's not meant to _be _an eighth emerald! As soon as it arrived I know the Master Emerald was under extra pressure to keep the balance between everything."

"Guess it doesn't help that Nyx is here too," said Tails, "I mean, we haven't seen him yet to clarify for ourselves, but both Shadow and Silver described him as either possessing an emerald or being an emerald, assumedly from Silver's timeline two hundred years in the future."  
"And the time travel thing," said Knuckles, now looking genuinely upset that his delicate balance of invisible energies was being tampered with.

He began unwrapping the tape at the base of his glove, pulling it off. On his fingers he wore one golden ring. At first Silver assumed it was the same breed of magical ring Sonic had boasted back in Central, but this one had unintelligible runes etched into its surface.

"What are you doing?" asked Tails, blankly.  
"I'm going back to Angel Island."

"You're – Knuckles, wait, we might need you. And the Warp Rings…"  
"You have these two," said Knuckles, indicating Silver and Nickel, "As for the Warp Rings, there's still five left after this. I'll radio Amy to come get me to take me back to you."

"But you know the most about all this," protested Silver, "I have no idea about any of these emeralds or Nyx – and what on Mobius is a Warp Ring?"  
"Exactly what it sounds like." Knuckles plucked the ring of his finger then smiled bitterly, "And you'd be surprised at the even footing we're on. Time travel, nine emeralds instead of seven and one _I_ have never heard of before? Those emeralds were to my culture what… what kinesis probably is to yours. Which is exactly why I'm going back."  
Silence hung uncomfortably for a few seconds, but Tails knew he could do nothing but accept his decision.

Silver murmured through numb lips, "He's actually going to teleport…"  
"Wait, there's one more thing," said Nickel. "Before you go. While I was with Robotnik, he had me 'powering the ship'. That literally meant putting my hands on a generator and throwing psychokinetic fields _into _it. I didn't know of a machine that could do that… and I'm worried that I wasn't actually powering anything."  
"Good job, kid," said Knuckles, giving him a thumbs up. "Ten bucks it's a bomb."  
"No," interjected Silver, "It's impossible. Maybe Robotnik was trying to tire him out, you can't use psychokinesis like you can electricity or something, it doesn't work like that."

"This is _Robotnik _we're talking about" –

Silver shook his head adamantly, "You think we haven't tried? You _can't _do it."  
Tails smiled in spite of himself.  
"Ten bucks and you're on."

Sonic returned just as Tails was falling asleep. Nickel and Silver, exhausted, had already drifted off: Nickel, though only two-thirds Silver's height took up about two-thirds of the double bed they shared.

"What's that smell? Why does it smell like a Warp – ah, Knuckles took a Warp Ring, didn't he."  
"Sonic, _shush_, people are sleeping!"

"Well _sorry _for donating those fifty Magic Rings into the _Tornado_. Shove up."

Sonic flopped down beside Tails. He yawned, "Good job Knuckles shot off then, this beats the couch."

Tails rolled his eyes at Sonic's disinterest as to the reason for Knuckles' departure, but was too tired to pull him up on it. After several bouts of kicking to get Sonic to sleep somewhere his quills wouldn't get in Tails' face, the brothers drifted off to sleep.

A shrill, unfamiliar siren at the crack of dawn jolted them all from sleep as if they had been electrified.

"What – what, where!?" cried Silver disorientated, falling to the floorboards before springing back to his feet, a cyan aura rippling around him.  
Tails cried, pulling on his shoes. "It's the _Tornado_!"

Sonic, who slept in his shoes, wasted no time spindashing straight out their window, on the hunt for the supposed perpetrators. He left only the tinkle of falling glass behind him. Protected inside a ball of quills, Sonic did not suffer a single cut. He did shiver in the crisp air, however.  
"No – ugh! Sonic!" called Tails, angrily.

Sonic was already out of earshot, elated that action had found him again so quickly. He landed safely in a Sonic Spin on the hard, frozen ground, then leapt from the ground around the side of the wooden hotel where the red plane was parked.  
The piercing siren that had drawn residents running from their homes in panic was indeed coming from the _Tornado_. Except as Sonic sprung up on top of the canopy, he realised he had no way of getting inside the cockpit.

Tails arrived only seconds later, the whir of his tails went unheard. He shouted something at Sonic, but his voice was completely swallowed by the siren. Tails got the canopy open and slid into the cockpit, and moments later the siren stopped.

Sonic said smarmily, "Sure that was loud enough, Tails? I'm not sure Harbour City could quite hear."  
"You didn't have to break the window!" snapped Tails, "If you had waited a minute I could have told you that's the SOS siren programmed to activate if I'm away, not a break-in!"

Sonic's smile faltered, "Oh… well who's in trouble?"  
"Well, if the hotel manager doesn't come down here and haul us to the cops for damage to private property, I'll tell you."  
"We've only had this machine a day, people have already got our number?"

"No, I transferred relevant data from my cloud to the _Tornado_," said Tails, now sounding a just a degree less angry to make way for pride at his accomplishment. "Now that I think about it I'll probably move this function to my wrist comm."

Now Silver and Nickel arrived.

"So we're not under attack?" confirmed Silver, landing lightly on the _Tornado's _wing.

Sonic gave them a wide grin and laughed sheepishly, "My bad. Was actually hoping it was this Nyx guy, we might've had a chance to get our emerald back."

"It's from Professor Pickle!" announced Tails from within the cockpit.  
"Who?" echoed Nickel, Silver and Sonic.  
Tails glared at Sonic for making fun of Nickel and Silver's lack of contextual knowledge. "Don't be a jerk, Sonic – he's Professor of Anthropology at Spagonia University. Remember we left him in Shamar after the festival of Sun and Moon?"

"I suppose I do," admitted Sonic with a smirk, "What's Robotnik doing in Shamar?" Sonic frowned, "Wait, Robotnik can't be in Shamar already?"  
Tails said, "There's plenty of Shamarite territory still held by Robotnik forces, even if it's not Eggman personally." Tails cocked his head as he read the text on the _Tornado MKII's _dash, "okay I've got his message, it says: 'captured by Erazors, need assistance, Robotnik may be involved, Py" – Tails gasped, "Pylon! It's signed Pylon!"  
"Let me see that!"  
Sonic squeezed himself in next to Tails, completely squashing the smaller fox against the cockpit's windshield.

"Pylon? He's chief of police now in Shamar, right?"  
"Well, the Royal Police. How'd he get a hold of the wrist comm we gave Pickle?"  
"_Who _is Pylon?" asked Silver, exasperatedly.  
"Well, he was once our boss," said Sonic.  
"You had a job?"  
"Yeah: rebellion."  
"Things got a bit complicated between everyone towards the end," explained Tails. Sonic looked away. "But he's still our friend, one of our closest."  
"And now he runs the police force in… Shamar?" confirmed Nickel.  
Silver was about to open his mouth to protest the direction of this latest course of action. They had enough on their plate: they had just lost another emerald to Nyx and they were no closer to working out what he wanted. Who knew how long this could set them back.  
But Sonic and Tails had, for little reason at all, just flown hundreds of kilometers to rescue Nickel. They needn't have, they could have just gone on collecting the emeralds, so who was he to tell them otherwise?

"Sounds like we're needed in Shamar!" said Tails cheerily. He suddenly scowled at Sonic, "But you better go apologise about that window."

Central City

The spacious office was dark, the only light filtered through closed blinds over the one window at the back of the room. Shelves filled with files and books lined the walls, portraits of men in suits and uniform between them. A coffee table sat surrounded by plump sofas. It, a lonely few chairs and a large, old desk were the only furniture in the room.

"You're late," said Shadow, leaning back onto the oak desk behind him. It was as high as his shoulders. In the doorframe stood a thin and wiry anthrohuman. Fang didn't seem to go a day without accumulating another injury. His wide-brimmed, high-crowned hat was tattered and filthy, and carried the stench of a thousand nights camped in the rain and mud waiting for the targets arrival. On his back, a powerful rifle fitted with a bulky scope, almost as long as he was tall, hung in its harness. He could have been young, but his hard eyes were world-weary, adding years to his demeanor. Two scars cut into his fur on his left cheek, one running down to his neck. His youthful face would probably have been handsome, otherwise.

Fang laughed darkly. "Late? I've been dark for three weeks, mate." He put one heavy boot in front of the other, slumping in the leather armchair under the portrait of the Commander's predecessor. "Thanks for sending the cavalry, by the way. What happened here?"

Fang lowered his eyesight to the heavy wooden door on the ugly, patterned carpet, bent and splintered where Shadow had kicked it.

Shadow wrinkled his nose at the smell Fang's hat, coat and fur brought into the office, but deigned to explain.

"The Commander came under attack this morning. GUN has a new enemy, it appears…" Shadow trailed off.

"Is he dead?" asked Fang, pointing at the portrait above him to refer to the subject's successor.

Shadow flinched, "No. Rouge worked it out. Don't worry about the details, but this creature is not of this world."

"Black Arms? 'Thought you gave them the boot…"

"No, he's not Black Arms. Like them, however, he does seek the emeralds."

Fang almost laughed again.

"More aliens?" he said, shaking his head.

"Honestly, we have no idea." Shadow described Nyx, going over the part about shape-shifting wings as quickly as he could. He left out the part that was still bothering him. Fang did not need to know that, anyway.

Rouge _had _worked out there was something very wrong with the Commander's whereabouts. He had not moved from his office for nearly five hours. Shadow and Rouge had gone to investigate, apparently the only ones to notice. They had found the Commander there with General Gungrave. But it had been immediately apparent something was very wrong. The General had been looking unsteady, confused. The Commander's entire physical make-up seemed to vibrate, and was unsteady. It had been bizarre. When Rouge pointed out the shape of an unconscious man behind the desk, Shadow had drawn a spear on the strange creature with its unstable masquerade.

Unbelievably, the Commander had seemed to physically break down into particles, reemerging as a green hedgehog-snake hybrid.

It looked like nothing Shadow had ever seen before. A chaos emerald was embedded in its forehead, and although it took the semblance of a hedgehog its quills looked like rods of emerald steel, and its entire body was covered in green scales. Later, large, bat-like wings were furled against his back.

Shadow had no time to react. Gungrave had only just moved from the desk, perhaps hoping to find a weapon, when Nyx had headbutted Shadow, followed up by an unnaturally powerful kick to the chest that had sent Shadow flying back, smashing down the heavy door.

And Nyx had got away, straight through the window, wings hurling him into the sky.  
With the emerald they had only just acquired.

Shadow had seen a good deal of unbelievable sights, but he had never witnessed a creature with abilities quite like that.

Gungrave had described that the emerald, confiscated from somebody in Central City in GUN, had come to be in the Commander's office.

"He absorbed it, which normally means we're dealing with somebody powerful," finished Shadow. He suddenly snarled, "And Sonic just let him get another one in Azure Lake Zone, according to intelligence this morning. Your timing was actually impeccable. I know you just got back, but I'm sending you out again."

"No."

Shadow blinked, then glared cruelly. "Excuse me?"

"I'm not goin' after Team Sonic." Fang did not waver, looking back with acceptance and finality.

After a short stunned silence, Shadow suddenly smiled. "Right," he chuckled, "No, it's not a contract. I don't want them dead, but they'll be going after another emerald and I want somebody capable there to make sure nobody else gets it first. If possible, I'd prefer if you could take it."

"No," repeated Fang, "I'm not goin' after Sonic.

Shadow's smile dropped. "This is not an offer. It's an order."

"And I'm not askin', I'm tellin' you, I won't go after Team Sonic."

Shadow checked the time. He needed to be in the air in twenty minutes.

"Fine, before I place you under arrest for war crimes and as an illegal alien" –

Fang's demeanor finally broke. Outraged, he cried, "War crimes!?" –

"Who knows how many innocent people you and your rogue pirate cells terrorised during the Robotnik War. I can make up any figure I want – but I appear to have a soft spot for your… history. Which is why I'm giving you fifteen seconds to explain why you won't go after Team Sonic."

Fang now stood, his chest rising and falling heavier than it should have been. He no longer looked Shadow in the eye, but was wise enough to know that Shadow was not bluffing about the arrest.

"I… took somethin' from Sonic. It was during the war, I had a… vendetta of my own. But now…" Fang took a deep breath, "Sonic will kill me if he gets his hands on me."

Shadow laughed, eyes lighting up; now he was interested.

"It's not funny," said Fang in a low tone. His tone was deadly serious, the exact opposite of Shadow's near-sadistic pleasure.

"Sonic? Murder and revenge? Who'd you hit?" Shadow's eyes lit up, "His father died in the war, right? Did you" –

-"No!"

"Well, who" –

"Look, it don't matter. It's not even who it was, it was when. What I did made him crack. And I'm not gonna say a word more."

Shadow relented. "Fine," he mused for a moment, "Then don't let them see you."

"No, sir" –

"By Mobius, you're a world-class assassin!" Shadow snapped, now angry at this waste of time. Fang appeared adamant, and so Shadow forced cool on himself like one voluntarily climbs into icy water. Even if what Fang said was true, he believed Sonic would just be like a dog with a bird. Once he caught Fang, he'd do little more than growl then snap then be forced to let him go.  
But he wouldn't let him take an emerald.

Inspiration flew past Shadow's eyes like a bullet.  
"Fine, you don't want to go after Sonic – how about that insane copy of his Robotnik made?" Metal had escaped at an opportune moment, GUN's resources were simply too thinly spread right now to warrant going after him. But that's just because they didn't believe that the monster was sentient. It wasn't clear to Shadow exactly how this deactivated husk had reanimated itself after nearly three years, but it needed to be taken out.

"This is a hit mission. Remember, it isn't any ordinary robot – you can't categorise computers as psychopathic."

"I know what he is."

"Good. As soon as you get the chance, take that freak down."

"Fine by me."

Shadow reached behind him and grabbed a pen and a sheet of paper. Scribbling on it, he ordered Fang to first visit intelligence and then be on his way.

As Shadow strode for the door, Fang said, "Where are they sending you?"

"Indopelago. Of all things, social media reports match descriptions of an emerald falling back to Mobius."  
Excellent, thought Fang. He got Robotnik's deadly masterpiece and Shadow got the tropical paradise.  
To be fair, it was also infested with brainwashed pirates who despised GUN and most of the developed world on principle.

Rouge met him on the airfield, a tablet under her arm. The plane and the small crew they'd be riding with – Shadow only recognised the intimidating giant that was Colonel Redfreid – was ready to go behind her.  
"This just came through," she said quietly, passing him the tablet. He activated the video ready to play.

An amateur camera's grainy picture wobbled over an urban and smoggy backdrop, but just captured the shaky footage of something unnatural with identifiable back-like wings with a span of perhaps four metres careening across the sky.

12

"Where from?"  
"Azumakai. He's heading south."  
"Towards the Indopelago – unbelievable," muttered Shadow, quickly replaying the footage. "He's going for the emerald. We need to move."

12


	16. Chapter 15 - Abroad

Abroad

Chapter 15

The sight of the evening sunlight turning the puffy clouds far beneath them the colour of champagne while the sky above transitioned through all the colours of dusk, from bright afternoon, to evening twilight, to starry night would have been beautiful if they were not so cramped.

The _Tornado MKII _was designed to be a fighter plane, unlike the original _Tornado_, which Tails had built with their long journeys in mind. GUN, however, saw little use in pulling space from the engine in order to allow for a more spacious interior. Nor did they invest in plush leather-bound seats. It was just as well Knuckles chose not to come – the gunner's podium no longer had a seat underneath it. The plane was bigger, leaner and meaner. It flew quicker than before. They noticed less turbulence, too, though Tails was not so quick to highlight the pieces of engineering GUN had actually improved upon.

Though his first and dearest love may have been mechanical engineering, Tails' prodigious skills extended well into the fields of computer science, software engineering, network designing and, of course, hacking.

"_Sonic, you ever heard of CORE?_" he asked somewhere over Soleanna. They could not see any of Mobius below, just the endless carpet of fluffy white. It was negative fifty outside, and both Tails and Sonic were as snug as they could get inside their cabins. Silver and Nickel seemed mostly protected from the temperature and wind pressure by their psychokinesis, but it didn't stop them uttering the odd complaint, 'it's so cold!' They could now all communicate since Tails had handed them spare wrist-comms.

Tails did not get an answer from Sonic, who was already using the wrist-comms with Silver and Nickel.

-"split with Spagonia was ages ago. At first they were really poor, but seriously, we should have kept them. Soleanna's rich, basically everything they do is the best in the world. They are _the _most underrated underdogs of _all time_."

"_Sonic?"_

"Yeah? I'm telling them about" –

"_I know I can hear. Ever heard of CORE? C-O-R-E?"_

"Um…" Sonic frowned. "No. Don't think so."  
_"Wow. They built this plane, but I had to dig deep into the software to get a hold of some leads. Except, on the web I can't find hide nor hair of anybody called 'Central Organisation for Robotic Experimentation'_."

"Are you gonna take a peep into that GUN leak of yours?"  
_"I'm already running the software but it's going to take some time."_

"So it's some GUN pet. Does it matter to us?"

"_Yes… maybe. This plane isn't based on my engineering, it's based on Robotnik's."_

"_Wait!" _said Silver in a tone of alarm. A particularly timely gust of turbulence buffeted the plane, but none of its occupants so much as blanched. They were used to the bumpiness by now. _"That doesn't mean he can track us or anything?"_

"No, don't be so stupid," said Sonic derisively. "Course he can't… right Tails?"

"_Not any more than he usually can. I've pretty much already pulled out all systems and networks that would link us back to GUN, too, so they can't see what we're up to. Which is good because they'd probably cough up a lung. Anyway, it's not us I'm worried about… it's CORE. GUN's meant to be against everything Robotnik stands for, including robotic warfare. It worries me that they're developing technology based on Robotnik's."_

"You probably didn't forget Tails, but they weren't the first to do it," Sonic acrimoniously reminded him.

"_No, but that was different."_

"_But it's what it's used for, isn't it?"_ said Nickel, fairly. _"You said Robotnik's a genius, that he puts his effort into building giant death-ships is his choice."_

"_I know that. The Internet's infrastructure all comes from Robotnik. Spagonia's defense systems are all hijacked Robotnik equipment. I do what I do from studying badniks. It's that CORE doesn't officially exist anywhere _and _they're meddling in Robotnik tech that worries me."_

"So they made this plane?" confirmed Sonic.

"_Yeah. Just didn't know if the name meant anything to you…"_

"Maybe ask Espio? Or I guess Rouge or Shadow…"

"_Pass. I'll see if I can get a hold of Espio then." _Tails wriggled inside the dimly lit cockpit. He had removed his seatbelt and rolled over to be flat on his back. As soon as they had the chance he was installing better seats. He checked a screen to his right. They still had fifty minutes flight time left.

"_Silver, Nickel, how're you holding up out there?"_

They responded with 'fine', to which Tails replied sympathetically, _"Only a little while longer now, guys, just keep holding on out there."_

"Can anybody use psychokinesis?" asked Sonic, suddenly.

Silver sneered with derision, and said, _"Like we're gonna tell you that."_

"_Why not?" _interrupted Nickel, sounding hurt on Sonic's behalf.

"_What do you… Nickel, we're not even meant to be here!"_

"_Yeah, and we'd be dead without Sonic. We'd have no idea what the Rainbow emerald was, in fact we'd probably be in either be a Robotnik or GUN prison! Or worse…"_

"_By the looms…"_

"Looms?" said Sonic, quickly grabbing onto the clue. "Your gloves?"

"_And shoes,_" supplied Nickel. _"A kinetic loom is the only way to make cloth that conducts psychokinesis."_

"_Well," _said Silver, carefully, as if still unsure if this conversation should even be taking place, _"flesh is still ok. It just isn't as strong. The cloth channels as well as conducts. Power depends on the quality of the cloth and the concentration of the wearer."_

"So, technically, I could" –

"_No, you could not._" said Silver flatly.

"Fine, you don't get to ride my plane."  
_"Except it's not your plane anymore," _pointed out Tails.

"Yeah it is, buddy. _You_ crashed the old one and _owe _me new one."

"_You can't even fly this one! But, look Sonic – that's not all I want to talk about. I've checked the news – Shamar _is _going through what looks like an attempted coup. There's no GUN forces on the ground to say but there's no mention of Robotnik involvement."_

Silver, bewildered at Tails' tone, said, _"Isn't that a _good_ thing?"_

"Maybe for them," explained Sonic, "but for us it kinda removes our license to do what we want, if you get what I mean."

"_This is like a political melting pot we don't want to get sucked into."_

"_Well, what's going on, at least?" _said Silver, _"I thought you guys would just help anyway."_

"We would!" said Sonic, stoutly, "Just be a break from tradition, I guess."

Tails said, _"What's going on is a group called the Erazors have seized the capitol… but haven't issued a statement why yet. There don't appear to be casualties. The military is acting like everything is fine… who are the Erazors?"_

"At least it can't be a coincidence. It's definitely related to whatever problem Pylon has."

"_Shouldn't the military be getting to work on getting their capitol back?" _asked Nickel, blankly.

"_It's a little more complicated than that. Sorry, I keep forgetting you guys are two hundred years ahead. The short version is the military used to run Shamar. Now the Ra and a council are in charge. Then they got invaded in the Robotnik War, and the military claims it's because they weren't in charge to protect everyone. Sonic, I'm sending through to you an image of the woman running the show now."_

"Thanks – Oh!" Sonic cried out in disgust as he looked to the screen in his cabin, "Man, she's like a living fossil!"

Shamar's dominant species were desert cats. The decrepit anthrohuman woman on his screen was so old most of her fur had fallen out, except for patches around her collarbone and face. In the photo, taken in front of a hand-drawn antiquity-style map on Shamar she stood remarkably straight, defying her immense age. She wore a military uniform around her withered, skeletal frame. Her eyes, like her stature, disregarded her age, and pierced the camera like sharp, blue razors. The subtitle at the bottom of the page read,

"Admiral General Zia. Never heard of her." Said Sonic.

"_How can you be an Admiral and a General?" _asked Silver.

"Immense narcissism," Sonic deftly surmised. "Can't be a leader without it. Alright… so this has nothing to do with Robotnik?"

"_None at all."_

"But Pylon's stuck in the capitol with a rebel group called the Erazors? Alright, fine, we just gotta get in and get out."

"_We'll stand out something crazy, Sonic. In case you forgot, none of us are cats!"_

"None of us were roboticised and we've snuck into dozens of Robotnik bases. We'll be fine. She looks like a psycho anyway, we better take a look."

Stepping through a Warp Ring was just like taking a normal step. Apart from the instant of smudged, iridescent colours and the acrid, saccharine smell of the harnessed Chaos energy (a concentrated version of the faint, sweet tincture of burning Magic Rings in the _Tornado MKII_) it was rather like stepping through nothing. It was the wall of humidity on the other end that made his head swim momentarily.

He had arrived on Angel Island barely a day after he had left and the Chaotix, the team Knuckles now contracted Angel Island's protection to when he was absent, perhaps unsurprisingly, had not yet arrived.

Knuckles sighed as he surveyed the Master Emerald's courtyard. Long grass and tortured vines slowly choked his civilization into rubble, but the Master Emerald floated majestically on its central marble plinth, rotating contently. Seven decrepit pillars made from the same white stone as the rest of the courtyard encircled it from a distance, their seven fares sadly absent. But he took comfort in the familiar scents and sounds, the colours and textures of the temples, his home, even of the flora that slowly reclaimed his culture and identity back into the stomach of the island.

He was eight years old when Robotnik came for the emeralds, asleep and content with the world in his candle-lit dorm, his favourite toys at the foot of his bed. His spiked gloves were on his stone bed-side table. He never slept without them again. It had been the last night he had ever seen another Echidna on Angel Island.

"At least you're okay, old girl," murmured Knuckles, approaching the emerald, pushing these morose thoughts away. The temple's peak still towered above them, but to his back was his open-air sleeping quarters, a tent, a sleeping bag and a ring-powered lantern. Beyond that stretched possibly the greatest bedroom view of all time.

But Knuckles knew the wild and unique landscape of Angel Island as well as his own quills; its sprawling rainforest, bordering mountains and great lake, cupped on the very edge of the island like a floating dam. He could not see it from here, but a great waterfall appeared after days of substantial rainfall, creating a rainbow mist circling the bottom of the island. To his left and right, for there was no useful west or east in relation to anything upon Angel Island due to its constant slow rotation, were the two grand temples, perhaps half the size of the Master Temple, the quarters of the Pachamacac and the Guardian in the days of old. Out of an original seven temples only these three had survived the ages and Robotnik's invasion, and then just barely. Nothing but rubble remained of the townships that housed the greater Echidna population. He could no longer enter the left Grand Temple, and the right required a hike to crest two-thirds of its stature.

It was the empty landing strip not far from the temples that had captured his attention. He had known the Chaotix to have been working for local detectives in Chilicual, not a three hours flight from Angel Island. So where were they?

But fatigue dripped from his limbs. He was hungry and exhausted. The Chaotix had only been summoned a day ago, they may still be in transit to Angel Island.

For now he would rest under the luminous green glow of his beloved emerald. If the Chaotix were not here by the time he awoke, he thought with some entertainment, he'd turn them into Chun-Nan noodles.

"_Approaching restricted airspace," _said Tails, across the comms, _"I'm activating cloaking and putting us down outside the city's borders."_

Sonic checked his wrist-comm: it was 3pm. They had been travelling for nearly a full day. His legs itched for a run, even if it was in the inevitable sandstorm his speed would create.

Silver pointed out, _"This place isn't a warzone. Can't we just say 'can we have our friend back', and go?"_

Sonic replied, "We've learnt from experience people say 'no' way more than they say 'yes' when you're asking for favours. In the end, it's better just not ask in the first place. If you get caught with your hand in the cookie jar… well it's only a cookie jar."

"_Just don't get caught with your hand on the space-ship's go button, hey Sonic?"_

"It was only one _empty_ skyscraper! Or was it two…"

Confused, Nickel said, _"So… Shamar's a cookie jar?"_  
"Sure! Anybody asks why we're skulking around, we're visiting! Not like this place _is_ a warzone or anything" –

Tails suddenly belted, _"INCOMING RPG! Evasive Maneuvers! Silver and Nickel HOLD ON!"_

Sonic felt his stomach rise to his throat as Tails flung the plane into a dazzling corkscrew. Through his windscreen he saw the rocket, streamers of white smoke seared into the sky in spirals behindit, whizz past metres from his head. The whole plane shook as Tails leveled them and spun the other way. Nickel and Silver were screaming with the whiplash.

"_Sonic, why did you say anything!?" _

"Just put me on the ground! Why are they firing!?"

"_They shouldn't be able to see us!" _Tails threw another sharp barrel roll and dove like falcon to the ground, _"I was cloaked physically and to radar!"_

Sonic dismissed that Tails was more worried why his equipment had failed than why they were being attacked.

Upside-down they streaked towards the ground at close the speed of sound. Through the shaking windscreen, Sonic craned his neck up to look at the city. Shamar City, and within it the mini-city the Pyramid Kingdom, Shamar's capital, was a green and blue jewel in the middle of the flat orange desert. Built upon the mighty river Le'n a large expanse of lower-class communities existed in dusty shambles upon white-orange sand, surrounding the mega-city at the epicenter. The Pyramid Kingdom was easily the most noticeable infrastructure, a palace of grand, domed buildings surrounded by a pale white wall the size of the city's CBD. An entire river, itself precious to Shamarite culture, diverted around it to imitate a moat before resuming its flow to the coast. Four bridges connected the city across the monumental 500m width of the river, evenly spread around the circular wall. Outside it, dozens of sky-scrapers shone bright white in the sun, the highways and bridges of a modern city springing up within poverty and traditional mud-brick housing. Tropical greenery replaced sand, the massive river cutting through the city before winding its way south and out of his sight. Where the thriving city blurred into the dusty poverty not yet lifted from dreary and endless pauperism by the prosperous economic boom, these mud-brick houses buried or towered over each other like poorly laid children's blocks, all constructed to no visible plan.

Sonic saw no smoke or any sign of conflict. But he saw no traffic either.

Then Tails flipped the aircraft.

"_I've got nothing more on radar… I think we're OK. Sonic, what now?"_

"Um…" Sonic thought quickly. The situation on the ground was obviously dangerous, whoever now ran Shamar didn't want any visitors – and live fire was a bit extreme. They obviously were not in the mood to talk. He had two options: one, put them down, leave the _Tornado MKII _in stealth mode and try and infiltrate from the ground. This seemed an unlikely option, with just him and Tails maybe but Silver and Nickel had likely never done any such thing, and their desire to even be in the country instead of on the hunt for the emeralds perhaps may not have matched theirs. The second option was to flee the Pyramid Kingdom's borders and find somewhere nearby where they could plan this out with more finesse.

Sonic shook his head, and said, "Tails, this isn't gonna work, take us out of the city, we're not coming in by air…"

"_You got it. Searching for a destination now."_

Barely more than twenty metres from the ground at any time, Tails pulled the plane to the north west and rocketed forwards.

Redfreid's infamous team currently consisted of five humans and one anthrohuman. Shadow did not believe they were as elite as they made out to be – after all, their success had mainly been during the Robotnik War. The playing field was much different now. They were too loud, too large. And too young.

"That boy cannot be more than a few years out of the academy," muttered Shadow, glaring red hot embers into the back of Waltz' sandy-haired head. In his hands he held a tablet he had a moment before been perusing.

"Physiologically, you're only, what, sixteen?" replied Rouge. Her eyes were shut and her ears plugged with the soft rubber pellets she generally carried around. Her magnificent hearing meant that even through these, she could hear Shadow clear as day.  
The jet they rode, piloted by Redfreid's Mouse and Nuka, was one of the fastest in the fleet. It was also considerably noisy on the inside, more than enough to irritate Rouge's ears. They sat at the rear of the plane, Redfreid and his team sitting in rows in front of them. Major Redfreid himself and Pea were both humongous humans – in fact Pea was like some kind of white mirror of his boss and both nearly bulged out of their seats.

"Genetically, I'm the most advanced organism alive. And I don't age like you…" he paused as searched for the right word, "mortals."

Rouge snickered, eyes still shut. "Didn't stop you developing near-complete amnesia. Last time I checked that was quite a rarity for us ordinary folk."

"Hmm…"  
"Now come on, how bad is it?"

Shadow glanced at the tablet.  
"You haven't _read _it?" he asked, the disapproval in his voice equal to his disbelief.

With unbridled sarcasm she replied, "I skimmed it, then this… strange hammering started pounding away inside my skull."

"Rouge…"  
"Ok, I'm kidding. And I'm familiar with the contact."  
"Good."

Neither Shadow or Rouge had been involved in developing the mission. It was simple enough emerald grab. Land in their one friendly port near their target's position. Their friendly port's location was both convenient in that it was so close to their intended target, and inconvenient in that the island for which they were destined also comprised Luoi-dom – roughly translated into Scythe City. A powerful fort controlled by the Black Fleet. Drawing unwanted attention from the brigs stationed there could be deadly.  
They would part ways with Redfreid and his team upon landing and take a bribed fishing vessel to the coast of Scythe City. Shadow accepted his and Rouge's deployment – their ties to Redfreid and his band of deranged cyborgs he did not.

"They _are _actually good soldiers, you know." said Rouge, noting Shadow's passive-aggressive glare into the backs of the other passenger's heads. Frenzy's red head, standing as tall as Redfreid or Pea, was directly in front of them beside the younger Waltz. Mouse and Nuka piloted the aircraft.

"Sure they are. Where else do we get the cannon fodder?" said Shadow, now again looking at Waltz.

Rouge leant over slightly, "They're here to take out Torrent."  
Shadow's eyes widened in surprise momentarily. Lieutenant Torrent? He was right-hand man to the Captain of the Black Fleet itself, Captain Jaggers.

That was a big hit.

"How did you know that?"

"Hon, I know everything. Turns out Torrent's sold a couple hundred tonnes too many Roedigo bombs."

Shadow settled back in his seat.

"I've stepped on his toes before."  
"Have fun?"

"Well, Mr. Toryung got to go shopping for a new arm afterwards. So in the end I suppose he did."

"So it _was _you in Lao Cai-dom?" She cracked open one eye to gauge his reaction.

Shadow replied smugly, "Classified."

"Uh-huh. Too bad then; if Redfreid does his job you'll never get that reunion."

Shadow mused, "If they're successful, it would certainly cause enough of a stir to potentially empty Scythe City." He drummed his fingers once his armrest, looking again at the back of Redfreid's head again. "Not bad…"  
"I'm sure they feel better with your approval."

"I feel better with my approval."

"More to you, then. I need to get some sleep."

"No. One more thing."

Rouge sighed, but gestured for him to continue.  
"I was informed a short while ago that the Commander… there's whispers that the Generals are moving for a spill."

"I know. The Commander is probably packing his boxes as we speak."

Shadow was startled. "You think he won't retain the votes?"

"Shadow – he let Robotnik get away! He saved your life, something we're all grateful for, but he failed to act. The Generals were furious, we'll never have Robotnik in that position again. Right on our doorstep with a rail gun in his face. Eulfinger is under enormous pressure as well for allowing Robotnik to enter UF territory in the first place – so if the votes don't get him… the President will."  
Shadow felt numb. The Commander had gone to great personal lengths to gain Shadow's trust and eventually contract him to GUN. He had also kept Shadow, his background, and his abilities confidential from most of the Generals.

Rouge noticed Shadow's anxious face through thin slits.  
"What's with the face? He's a good long run" –

"No, you don't understand…" Shadow could not continue any further. He could comprehend leaving GUN; he'd never been reliant on the organisation or overly trusting of them, either. It was a convenient platform from which to operate, essentially. But a GUN Commander wielded substantial power. If the Commander lost power, and was replaced by another that suddenly saw Shadow as a threat…  
Shadow's eyes flicked to the back of Redfreid's head once more.

Maybe the time had come to think more about allies.


	17. Chapter 16 - Ambushed

Chapter 16

Ambushed

The _Tornado MKII _kicked up a cloud of sand as Tails put the plane down with some haste. Sonic jumped out as soon as his windshield opened.

"You two okay?" he asked, nodding to Nickel and Silver.

"That was amazing!" cried Nickel, eyes wide as he punched the air. Silver quickly hushed him. Their psychokinesis enveloped half of the plane's hull, gaseous traces consistently trailing off it to be instantly lost to dissipate into the air. Like magnets, Silver and Nickel clung to the craft without any noticeable wind resistance and with noticeable ease. With similar ease they drifted to the ground, and slightly clumsily found their footing on the ground.

Once grounded, Silver exclaimed, "That was reckless, Sonic! You nearly got us killed!"

"No I didn't," said Sonic, feigning a ruffled demeanor. Switching to straight sarcasm, he said, "Tails would never let us get hit by anything less than a backyard-built stinger with a top speed of less than a 200k, wouldn't'ya Tails?"

Tails popped out of the cockpit and, twin tails whirring, glided down for a soft landing. Angrily, he replied, "Are you talking about Kerikot – you're talking about Kerikot aren't you!"

"Are you _ever _serious!?" demanded Silver.

"Where are we?" cut in Nickel.

"Old coal-powered station," said Tails, looking up at the red brick and steel amongst which they had landed. It looked classically abandoned. Swaths of power lines matted in the sand and crumbling concrete where they had been left to collapse. An old railway lay half-buried in the sand nearby. Cement tanks and rusting, skeletal vehicles dotted the area. The building itself looked mostly intact, four or five massive exhaust pillars towering over the three-storey, flat-roofed factory itself. Tails continued, "There used to be a man-made water source around here but it's all dried up now. Now" – Tails pivoted away from the view to face Sonic, "what are we doing here?"

"We need to find a way into the city," said Sonic, rubbing his chin in thought. He looked at Nickel and Silver, the latter of which clearly had a bone to pick, "What do you guys think?"  
Expression black, Silver shouted, "What do I think? That we," he indicated himself and Nickel, "are getting out of here!"  
"Silver!" protested Nickel, "They helped us when it didn't matter much to them!"

"No they didn't! They just want another magic emerald to add to their collection. _This _has nothing to do with us!"  
Showing more spirit than Sonic had yet seen in him, Nickel rallied to their defense, "Silver! What would Mum and Dad say if they heard you! We're indebted to Sonic and Tails! They're our friends!"

"They're _not _our friends and they'd say to get back home as quick as possible!" spat Silver hotly, "I'm not putting us in danger over something as ridiculous as this!" Standing straight, he glared at Sonic and Tails, "We're not like you and we don't want any part in some… elite black-ops!"  
Calmly, Sonic corrected him, "Since nobody's given us orders, technically it's just straight up vigilantism."

"Even better!" cried Silver. "Because messing around in someone else's country is the quickest way to get back home!"

"You don't know how to get back home, Silver," Sonic replied, charm in his eye as he stirred Silver up for his own entertainment, "Who are you going to go to? Where are you going to go!?"

Sonic noticed Tails perk his ears, then fly atop his plane. Silver did not, and continued ranting.  
"I don't know! But not putting myself in a position to be _killed _sounds obvious!"

"What's up, Tails?" Sonic asked, ignoring Silver to the hedgehog's obvious displeasure.

"I don't know… but I think we should get inside."

Sonic jumped aboard the plane and followed Tails' eyeline. He could hear the rumble himself now. He leapt back down, rolling past Silver, and said, "C'mon, let's go."

"What, why!?" exclaimed Silver, infuriated Sonic had turned his back on him, "Where are you going?"  
"To find a vantage point, we got company."

"Wha"-

"Silver, look!"

Nickel pulled him around to face the direction of the city. A bloom of upturned sand signalled incoming heavy vehicles in their direction.

"Oh, great!" Silver rounded on Sonic, "If they're here to arrest us it's your fault!"

A little way away, Tails kept up with Sonic. "What was that about?" he asked when safely out of Silver's earshot.

"Yeah. He's not like Knuckles is he? It's actually just kinda funny when he throws a tantrum…"  
"It won't be when he hurls you into a brick wall…"

"We'll work it out. Go hide the _Tornado_, better yet, stay inside it incase things get ugly."  
Tails nodded and turned on his heel. He passed first Nickel, who jogged after Sonic, disgust still lingering on his face at his brother's behaviour, and then Silver, whom Tails gave a wide berth.

A kick to the nearest door to gain entry proved unnecessary – it was wrought iron. At least it gave Silver something to vent on.

Suddenly encased in cyan light, the door violently crumpled once, twice, three time before shooting from its bearings to lie defeated in the dusty gloom of the factory's innards.

Silver stormed through first, though Sonic noticed that the exercise had him work up an obvious sweat, and Nickel looked concerned.

"Well, hopefully they won't notice," murmured Sonic as they passed the dejected door. "Tails, hop back in the _Tornado, _keep that cloak up."

Nickel and Silver continued to bicker as Sonic led the way up to the roof.

"What if these guys are cops? Or military! Here to arrest us! We were trespassing in their air-space… or something!"  
"We have the _Tornado_, we can just fly away!... Or, Sonic?"  
"Yeah?"

"Could that black hedgehog help us? The one on the Egg Carrier?"

"Shadow? GUN almost definitely know what's going on in Shamar right now, whatever's going on in Shamar. Unless it's international security, by which I mean U.F national security, they won't get involved. And Shadow _definitely _won't just come because we asked for help if it's not Robotnik."

Falling back from Silver a little bit as they climbed the dark and musty stairs, lost in thought, Nickel said, "What… was he? Or is that wrong… he didn't look right."

Sonic replied, "He's not. Shadow wasn't 'born', exactly, he was engineered... by Robotnik's grandfather, actually. Through a bunch of events that nobody's really sure of Shadow wound up with the DNA of Black Doom, an alien looking to control the Master Emerald." At Nickel's preposterous look, and Silver' black glare as even he turned around to check he'd heard that properly, Sonic said, "If that sounds bizarre now, imagine what we felt when they invaded the planet."

Shocked at the bizarre story, Nickel said, "Uh… how'd you survive that!?"

"Mostly luck," allowed Sonic, "Wasn't really Team Sonic's finest hour."

"Why?" asked Nickel.

Grinning sheepishly, Sonic said, "I spent most of it unconscious! When I wasn't I was getting beaten to a pulp."

"By… Shadow?"

Nodding sourly, Sonic grumbled something unintelligible.

Looking like he regretted asking, Nickel shook his head. "So Shadow can shoot laser's from his hands because of alien DNA. We'll leave it there."

They reached the roof. This time the door was of a reasonable thickness, and Sonic kicked it in before Silver had another chance to 'vent'.

Keeping low, they scuttled to roof's edge, and took shelter beside the bland boundary wall. But for a few roads, the flat white desert expanded from the abandoned station in every direction utterly without cultural disruption. Heat shimmered off the white sands. The blue sky was void of any clouds, as endless and without interruption as the empty terrain.

Such a perfect running day, thought Sonic. The sand would hurt his face, but with the wind behind him he'd slam the barrier in minutes here.

"Do you think they definitely know we're here?" asked Nickel, drawing Sonic back from his imagination.

"Not sure." Looking excited, Sonic continued happily with his advice, "But when you know nothing it's best to just be really paranoid."

Peeking over the edge of the wall they watched as three armoured vehicles rolled in. The weak gate that was the plants main entry, a chain gate that had long fallen into sullen disrepair, crumpled with little fight as the first truck steamrolled straight through. The three metal monstrosities stopped in the open area beneath their vantage point.

From somewhere hidden inside the _Tornado MKII_, Tails said, _"Heat scans show twelve people in those vans. One of them either just got back from a marathon or he's humungous."_

Tails had barely finished the sentence when the last armoured car's back doors erupted open.

"That's the biggest wolverine I've ever seen!" whispered Nickel with alarm, ducking under the wall.

"Hey, I know that guy," said Sonic. He purposefully avoided the dirty glare Silver blasted him in response to the revelation. "Tails, it's Ringo!"

"_Gosh!" _exclaimed Tails, _"He's alive! I assumed he'd never made it out of Bu Xi Tai… wait, that's not normal, have you seen the size of him!?"_

Sonic peered over the top of the roof again. He had not seen Ringo since he, Tails Knuckles and Amy had left the secret mountaintop somewhere in Chun-Nan, Master Shukun and the Bu Xi Tai academy. By the time of their departure, each of them had no desire ever to see Ringo again. For a long time Sonic doubted he ever would.

Wolverines were large for anthrohumans, some standing shoulder-height with humans. Ringo looked nearly bigger than the truck in which he rode. Sonic estimated his height at nine feet, his black, often matted fur adding to his substantial bulk. He wore a black combat jacket, open around the chest, and baggy camouflage trousers. His physique was just as abnormal as his height – huge muscles clung swollen from his massive bones. Like all canine anthrohumans, his protruding muzzle housed numerous sharp teeth – in his case his incisors protruded past his bottom lip. They made him look more animal than anthrohuman.

"So?" shot Silver, "Who is he?"

"A scumbag we met when we trained with Master Shukun."

"Who?"  
"Doesn't matter, Ringo's bad news" –

"_I don't think we're done with the reunions yet, Sonic. More people are getting out of the vans… look, you're not gonna like this…"_

"SONIC!"

A voice so deep it seemed to tremor their building rose from below. It sounded nothing like the voice Ringo once possessed.

"I KNOW YOU'RE THERE. I KNOW YOU'RE HERE FOR THE POOL."

"Pool? Shouldn't you at least buy me a drink first?" called down Sonic, gesturing for Silver and Nickel to keep low.

"COME DOWN. YOU WON'T BE HARMED."  
"Sounds convincing," said Sonic, nodding. Before anyone could stop him, he got to his feet and vaulted onto the wall.

And froze.

High enough and on a narrow enough ledge to induce vertigo in toughest of stomachs, it wasn't the ten guns aimed straight at his face that stunned him still. It was the one gun, the face of the owner concealed by a tattered, wide-brimmed, high-crowned hat. The dark purple fur was unmistakable.

From below, Nickel thought he saw Sonic tremble once.

"Sonic, what's" –

Nickel never finished his sentence. A blast of wind knocked both he and Silver onto their backs. By the time they had recovered, Sonic was gone.

"BRING HIM DOWN!" roared the wolverine.

"_Sonic, wait!" _Nickel stopped as the building began to shake.

Sonic had already torn down the side of the building, hard, sharp quills ripping a distinct trail of ruined brick as he skidded down the wall in the blink of an eye. By the time he hit the bottom the first shots had been fired.

Nickel and Silver flew to the top of the wall in time to hear a massive BANG, louder than that of the flinching gunshots, and see one of the armoured trucks topple over.

"Whoa." said Nickel as it crashed to the tune of shouting gunmen. They were all feral cats.

"Why is he attacking?" hissed Silver, eyes wide and halfway to panicking, "What is he doing?"

Faster than the eye could track, the gunmen flew away. A sickening THUNK would precede (and sometimes seem to follow) a furry body flying through the air to land heavily in the sand nearby. The giant wolverine could not keep up, and pivoted weightily. Sonic might have thought him too big, or just too much trouble, because he left Ringo alone.

Finally, just one gunmen remained standing. This time Sonic moved a little slower. Pivoting to dodge the one shot he fired so fast it stirred the sand into a miniature whirlwind, Sonic charged the remaining gunmen. Airbourne, the gunman's hat falling loose from his head and gun from his hand, they flew back to the foot of the main building, momentarily of out Ringo's reach.

"You've had this coming, Fang!" yelled Sonic, knees straddling the now defenseless opponent. He had just raised one fist when he paused.

The gunman wasn't a he.

A little stunned, but realisation trickling in as his sudden burst of rage flooded out, Sonic said, "Jackie…"

"Yes," coughed the woman. Silver and Nickel could faintly make her out to be a weasel. She allowed herself a half-smile, "What, you think I was ma' brother?"

The revelation proved too much for Silver.

"Does _everybody_ he know actually want him dead?" cried Silver from above, waving his arms emphatically. "Is there like a line!? Do they have a mascot!? Is there some kind of leaderb"- Silver's tantrum finally undid him. Midway through stamping a foot he slipped. Before Nickel could catch him he had already fallen, only catching himself with his psychokinesis halfway down.

The ground tremored, and many things happened at once.

Sonic turned in time to duck the majority of Ringo's first swipe, but was unable to recover before Ringo's second, foul-smelling paw caught up with him.

Jackie's hand whipped to her belt, pulled out a secondary weapon, and fired straight up.

"NO!" screamed Nickel, in time for a cloaked, metal wing to not-so-gently catch him around the middle, pulling him into the air.

Sonic's quills cut into Ringo's palm, so sharp they drew blood. Stuck in his fist like a child might hold a doll, he struggled with all his strength. Ringo gave no indication of pain, though Sonic's quills must have certainly been causing him some, and walked back towards to the trucks

Even uglier up close, he held Sonic close to his face.

"YOU'VE HAD THIS COMING, HEDGEHOG."

Quicker than his speed belied, Ringo smashed Sonic bodily into the toppled truck, crushing both of them.

Nickel saw all this as he grabbed ahold of the cloaked plane with his psychokinesis. A second after he did, Tails throttled into the sky.

Barely a minute had passed since Sonic had jumped atop the wall on the roof.

"SILVER!" screamed Nickel. The giant wolverine was fast becoming nothing but a black dot. Tails, what are you doing!? We have the _Tornado_, we can save them!"

"_The shots fired weren't bullets. They were darts intended to tranquilise targets. Silver's ok! I don't know why, but they wanted us alive."_

"So?" cried Nickel. Resistant to the power of the wind even as Tails accelerated higher, he crawled to the cockpit. Unable to see Tails, he looking straight into a camera nearby, "Why are we leaving them?"

"_Because we wanted a way into the Pyramid Kingdom. I think Sonic just found one."_

Moonlight signaled no difference in the severity of the humidity.

The sweat in his fur was uncomfortable to say the least, but beneath his skin the buzz of readied adrenaline gripped him like taut string.

The fallout of Redfreid's expectedly successful operation would benefit theirs – emptying Scythe City hopefully to the point a two-man elite force could breach the city undetected and retrieve the emerald. To their knowledge the Black Fleet had not yet discovered it, as the energy signature originated within a land-locked and sparsely populated area of jungle near the small island's centre. The difficult part would be getting past the densely populated, and fortified, coastal perimeter.

Rouge appeared in high spirits as she guided their small dinghy, a black streamlined machine engineered for silence, towards the distant yellow glow on the horizon. He knew why: this wasn't the police state of White Acropolis, the dangerous Robotnik Empire or even their own boss, but primitive, uneducated, impulsive pirates. They weren't even trying to breach a major settlement, and, if all went to plan, there would be no risks of volatile MagnoThermals here. They were children in a sandbox.

"Redfreid just may have gotten the rotten end of the bargain," Shadow said, tasting salt as he exposed his mouth.

"We can say that after we've done the tricky part," replied Rouge, her tone still cheery.

They approached from the south, to a part of the island least populated. By now corvettes and frigates flew high above their heads, three to six fiery blue spots in the distance signaling their presence. In front the island's jagged mountains thrust upwards, its rainforest separating clusters of compounds and searchlights.

They turned into a darkened cove away from the brightness of the rest of the island. The silence of their boat was marvellous. As they approached the white shore and a wall of rainforest, Shadow allowed himself a brief moment of relaxation. So far so good. What the Pirates had in brute strength they lacked in finesse – sure their radars could probably see them, but they were not a military like that of GUN or Robotnik. They would be spotted, one ping amongst a thousand, but not distinguished. Identification would happen eye-to-eye, and both Shadow and Rouge were skilled at remaining unseen if they so wished.

"There's our dock," said Rouge, lessening the throttle lightly.

"So this is the tricky part?"  
"Unless he turns on us. Then that'll be the tricky part."

"Right."

An adult human male sat on the dock. Thin, lanky, alone, young. Probably itching to get away from his macho, war-drunk homeland.

"He is _your _contact, right?" confirmed Shadow as they approached, quietly cutting through the slight tide. "That's who Intelligence got you?"

"No. He _is _Intelligence." said Rouge, quietly.

Shadow shot her a quick glare to check she wasn't joking. She didn't seem worried, but she didn't look amused either.

"Why not, we only work for the best-funded military in the world. Who else should we select to put our plans together but our enemy's street urchins?"  
He silenced himself as the man, with proximity now seeming closer to a boy, threw a line to them. Rouge caught it and pulled them in. The dock stank of seaweed, the wood looked close to rotten.

In their own raspy tongue, Rouge exchanged quick words. She flapped both wings once and glided ashore, sea spray tickling her ankles. The boy replied, pointing towards the island and indicating several directions. His scratchy and sparse facial hair made him look unkempt, even more than his smell. At least he looked like a low-life easily paid off with notions of asylum or money.

With his and Rouge's exchange over, he lithely hopped into the boat as soon as Shadow disembarked and sped off in the direction of open water.

"Did 'Intelligence' share how we're getting off with the rock?" asked Shadow as the boy turned to silhouette, then melted into the horizon. The beach was completely empty but for them.  
"Oh they left that out of the briefing, did they? I know how much you love surprises."

She took a running jump into the air and arced towards the forest canopy. The small mic in his ear came alive.  
_"But you're meant to be the greatest life form ever conceived, I'm sure you'll think of something. Else I'll just have to fly off and leave you here."_

He ducked low and sprinted to the canopy himself. He was quickly enveloped in heavy underbrush, colourful smells and curious noises from all directions bombarding his senses. The incline began almost immediately.

"Last I knew Pirates did not have wings. That's why they built flying boats."

"_That explode without much effort. Last known energy signature 3km north by north west. Two fellows on a path 200m from you."  
_Shadow had spotted their erratic torchlight already and altered his course carefully in their direction. He could hear drunken laughter and slurred shouts.

"You know, Kintobor helped invent MagnoThermal tech…"

"_The crazy one, or…?"_

"My one."

He leapt from the underbrush to pounce on the two drunkards. He kicked one in the head, punched the other in the kneecaps and took him out with an elbow to the eye socket on his way down. They went down as if tranquilised. Shadow kept going, back up to speed in seconds.

The incline began slowly, but within minutes of leaving the shore they were already climbing the mountain. The slope was treacherously wet, but Shadow was not a clumsy human. He rapidly ascended the sharp inclines, purposefully avoiding ditches of mud and difficult routes. His exceptional night vision allowed him to move without a burdening torchlight.

"I believe the Black Fleet received the tech in exchange for Gerald's asylum. But he only spent a short time here before GUN came for him anyway, shipped him back up the _ARK _to continue on my cousin."

Rouge responded in an even tone, _"I didn't know that. Do you think he tried to look for you?"_

"Maybe. But maybe he couldn't get off the Indopelago without fear of being recaptured. Or maybe he was already going insane after losing it all. I was thinking… he probably never even got a chance to visit Maria's grave."

Her name still opened that deep wound a crack whenever he heard it, said it, thought it, but less than before.

"_He was a smart man, Shadow. He would have mourned in his own way, and its evident he redirected his energy into doing what he thought was right. Which it was."_

Shadow very nearly tripped. Icily, he reminded her, "What was right? The Eclipse Cannon was designed to kill innocent people."

"_For GUN, it was. I don't know if he knew that. But in the end, the Eclipse Cannon reminded the world of GUN's dangers. The risk of the Eclipse Cannon led to GUN reviewing its entire position in world politics, formal apologies, a restructure of the entire corporation away from military involvement and into diplomacy. It was madness to treat Project Terios as superior to Project Shadow, as if winning a war over territory was more important than building genetic immunity to dozens of diseases. You could not have come at a better time."_

"How so?"  
_"After the Robotnik war, many people, myself included, saw GUN as the world's saviour. The Eclipse Cannon, and to a select few, Project Shadow and Terios, reminded us all that GUN has been too powerful for too long. Kintobor could have been great, instead now he is forgotten, and through tragic coincidence his lineage as mad as he was when he died."_

"You've put a lot of thought into this."

"_Haven't you?"_

He could hear curiosity in her voice, and even slight sadism. As if she expected the wrong answer.

Carefully, he replied, "I sometimes wonder what Kintobor would think if he could see me now. I aid the company that destroyed our lives, to save a world that would condemn me," he smiled at the incongruity, "irony at its best. But the reason I'm here is because of GUN's direction – towards peace rather than conflict. As you concede, the direction adopted after the Eclipse Cannon. I had to reconcile with GUN, in order to move forward." He looked up as he ran, searching for a silhouette in the sky. He challenged her, "Treasure Hunter, I remember a time when you were only here for the Chaos emeralds?"

"_Well, we are here to recover an emerald."_

"Well then focus on that and stop prattling over world history."

"_Then you'll be happy to know we've reached a small compound. Nothing interesting. Three males, two on the ground, one in an office. Oh look, rare exotic animals."_

He glanced up through the trees as Rouge's silhouette dipped below the trees in a purposeful beeline.

Narrowing his focus back into the mission, he growled, "Rouge, what are you doing?"

He reached the compound. Barbwire fencing surrounded crates for shipping, a large truck, an office building and a siren. He spindashed into the fence and stalked the first male on the ground.

"_Male in the office is down. My my my, how did you get this?"_

"Rouge, keep to the mission. Why are we here?"

"_I found you a present. C'mon, let's keep moving."_

The first male already lying at his feet, Shadow sighed aggravatedly as Rouge loudly swept into the sky. The second guard gasped and ran for the siren. He made it two feet before Shadow charged him, driving into the moist soil head-first.

"_Keep up, you're falling behind."_

He quickly checked for remaining guards Rouge may have missed from the air. Of course, there weren't any.

With Rouge rapidly gaining distance, he spindashed forwards and through the opposite fence.


	18. Chapter 17 - Ki the Cat

11

Chapter 17

Ki the Cat

"Back to that useless machine then," muttered Knuckles contemptuously. The sunrise had just passed over his face when his patience ran thin enough to burn. Straightening from where he had tried to sleep, wholly ignoring the vibrant view beneath him, he passed the Master emerald and trod over crumbling white stone and the reclaiming jungle undergrowth. The sweet smell of radiating Chaos energy faded as he approached the courtyard entrance, then made the descent through the lonely, musty passageways inside the Grand Temple. The only light filtered through windows specifically designed to catch and distribute light for as long a duration as possible. The labyrinthine passageways were still poorly lit without candles, and so Knuckles navigated by memory.

He always attributed his hardened endurance to years trudging up and down these temples. The stairs, now roughly hewn and uneven, required concentration and stamina to surpass; at least if you wanted to get anywhere quickly. Though he'd never admit it, Knuckles could never help but be envious at Sonic's ability to simply roll down these stairs.

Eventually he reached a crumbling balcony where he had allowed Tails to install the computer. Almost six months ago, Tails and Sonic had helped Knuckles buttress the balcony to stop it falling right off the face of the temple, but that hadn't stopped Knuckles protesting endlessly about the computer's placement.

Sonic might have tried to appease him by calling in some help to carve a desk out of the same white stone from a quarry below, shaping it to a traditional style. It still proved too much for Knuckles. He had left the desk in Chinoquie's old room, she might have liked it, and instead asked the computer to be left on the floor.

"Still looks stupid," muttered Knuckles, sitting awkwardly in front of it.

He booted it up, and opened to program Tails had created in order for them all to contact each other from a distance.

After some difficulty, he prompted the call.

It took nearly a minute for the Chaotix to answer.

A tiny voice on the other end said, _"'Yellow?"_

"Charmy," muttered Knuckles with distinct irritation, "Put Vector on."

"_Um… no."_  
"What!? Charmy, where are you three!?"

Bees were probably the weirdest anthrohumans ever devised. Knuckles still had no clue what benefit Charmy offered the Chaotix (he had no clue whatever any of them but Espio offered the three-man detective agency), but he appeared a permanent member anyway.

"_Stalking Metal Sonic."_

Knuckles sat stunned in silence for a second.

"_I have to go now…"_

"No, Charmy!" Knuckles tone shifted quickly to one of patience, "Charmy, Charmy stay on the line for me, okay?"

"_We have to be quiet –HEY!"_

"_Hush, for a minute, kid…"  
"_Vector!" Knuckles cried with relief, "Where are you?"

Vector was a large and intimidating crocodile originally from the Great Southern Land. Espio, an exiled-ninja from Azumukai made the three of them a more unlikely trio than Knuckles, Tails and Sonic.

"_Sorry 'bout the island, bud. We got distracted on our way down. It's Metal Sonic."_

"Yeah, we know, we think it's the same one we put away a couple years back, I saw him break out of GUN. Well, Sonic did. You've got him?"

"_No, we're followin' him. He looked wounded pretty bad. Dressed in a cloak as a begger, tryin' to blend in."_

Frustrated, Knuckles said, "You're following him? Why? Take him down, then get back to my island like I asked you to!"

"_No can do, mate. Espio thinks there's a good chance he's going to a Robotnik hideout to recharge and resupply. He'll lead us straight to it, then we can call the cavalry!"_

Knuckles thought about that for a moment.

"We've known you guys for a while now, and you've come up with some interesting things. But that's easily the WORST plan you have ever come up with!" Knuckles shouted down the line. "You saw him last time!"

"_Take it easy, Knuckles, last time he had, like, seven Chaos emeralds and half of Robotnik's weaponry to control!"_

"That's not the point!"

"_He's weak, he won't recharge instantly."_

"GUN can… I dunno, 'scan' to find the base, or something – what city are you in!?"

"_Chillidor, Sector West – look, Knux, we gotta go. We'll get to your island ASAP, I promise."_

"No, Vector, listen to me – the last _two _times we've seen Metal Sonic's had to go Super in order to take him down, you've gotta hit him – hey! Hello? Hello!? C'mon!"

Knuckles kicked the computer and one gloved hand flew to his hip, where it met nothing but fur.

Knuckles cursed as he realised he'd left the pouch of the five remaining Warp Rings back at the top of the temple.

He charged out of the room, and tore up the stairs, his mind made up already. There may only be five Warp Rings left in existence, but Metal Sonic was one of the deadliest things on the planet – a remnant from the time when Robotnik had not simply been a militaristic dictator but a maniac hell-bent on genocide, all his hatred of the resistant movement designed into one thing fit to kill them all. The one Sonic had encountered in Green Hill Zone may have been a copy, but it did not have what the original Metal or Shadow's teammate Omega had – sentiency. But even the memories of Metal Sonic Tails hypothesised Robotnik had implanted in his new copy based on Sonic's story of their encounter had been enough to drive the robot to near-madness. Knuckles did not know if Robotnik was behind Metal's freedom, or an error from within GUN had prompted the machine's escape, but a single Warp Ring to destroy him once and for all would be worth the loss.

Legs burning, he flew up the stairs three at a time.

Minutes later, almost ready to collapse but fully aware of the probability of the worst case scenario, he tore across the courtyard to where he had woken less than half an hour before.

Diving upon his sleeping bag, he fumbled for the leather pouch. Grabbing a single Warp Ring, he flipped it once as he might a coin and squinted as a portal full of rainbow light burst into existence in front of him. Aching from the ascent, he tumbled through.

Nestled amongst mountains, almost buried against the coast, the Western sector of Chillidor city featured none of the clean high-rises and tourist attractions and was composed of terraced slums built nearly on top of one another as they clung to their mountain. Chillidor was a neighbouring zone to the Mystic Ruins and shared a climate. So it was not the temperature Knuckles had to adjust to but the noise. A city the size of Chillidor existed in a bubble of incessant and blurred noise anyway, but as Knuckles came through the portal a sudden explosion of sound and ensuing screams erupted all around him, a single dark figure speckled with red light tearing into the sun, a boom like that of a fighter jet cracking across the sky.

"Why does no one ever listen to me," Knuckles lamented.

The rumbling of the floor and walls eventually jolted him awake.

Sore, aching, the right side of his body in considerable pain, Sonic cracked one eye open. He could barely see anything, but as feeling flooded back into his body (something he had mixed feelings about. He'd have preferred some bruises remain numb) he realised his position.  
"Yay… fisticuffs. Wouldn't want something awkward."

He tested their strength. Standard. Easy enough.

Uncomfortably tight, the plastic cuffs were hooked into roughly welded rings in the floor between his legs. Though this meant he had the luxury of resting on the rumbling floor, it also meant he was uncomfortably hunched over – a fact not missed by his spine.

Pushing aside remaining drowsiness, he inspected his surroundings.  
He assumed they were in the back of the one of trucks they had seen earlier. It was cramped and hot and dark. Crates and numerous other storage items filled all other available floor space. The heat was about as unbearable as being hunched over, it had to be over forty degrees and there was no water in sight. A little bit of light trickled in from a musty window between the driver's cabin and theirs, which allowed Sonic to orient himself. A warmth to his left made him groggily turn his head. The muggy ray of light just illuminated him. Silver lay slumped beside him. A trickle of blood had made his way from his shoulder to his stomach, drying brown against his white fur. Sonic wondered what had happened.

"Silver," Sonic whispered, nudging him. When Silver provided no response, Sonic dug his shoulder in a little harder. "Wake-up, princess… or don't."

Sonic frowned. He was okay, right? Ringo wouldn't tie up a corpse. But it was so hot in here…

Sonic concentrated on Silver's chest, waiting for it to rise and fall.

"Your friend is fine. I recovered from that drug in a little less than an hour."

Surprised, Sonic leant forward to see across Silver.

The truck held another prisoner, latched to its floor like Sonic and Silver. However the darkness obscured most of him.

"You're Sonic the Hedgehog, aren't you?"

Ignoring his discomfort, Sonic forced some energy into his voice, "The one and only!"

"I honestly thought you of all people would last more than a minute against these thugs…"

Taken aback, Sonic stuttered, "Ah… w-well… this is, um," he thought quickly, " - what are you talking about? Don't you get it, I'm getting a free ticket straight to where I want to be!"  
The stranger went quiet for a moment.

"You mean you… planned for this to happen?"

"Well, on the run - "

- "Good! So how are you getting me out?"

Squinting through the dark, he failed to register any defining features of the vague silhouette beside Silver. From the pitch of the voice, Sonic was fairly sure she was a woman.  
"Sorry – who exactly are you?"

"It doesn't matter right now. This isn't how I planned to get into the city either, but with you, maybe we can make the impossible, possible."  
Gradually mounting was the feeling that the conversation was slowly getting out of control. "That's generally what I do, but, uh, what exactly is the impossible bit for you?"

"The same for you, I assumed. We need to take back the Pyramid Kingdom!"  
A pang of dismay struck him in the gut.

"We are not defeated – this has just been a cowardly but dramatic act from a minority. The High Council has been removed and put under house arrest. The Ra has fled, for he surely would have been quietly done away with. Meanwhile the Captain, an ally of the Ra, of the palace security force has been taken into custody, assumedly so have his lieutenants" –

"Captain? He's a lynx right?"

…"Yes."

"Pylon the Lynx? Tall guy, big ugly scar across the chest?"

The stranger's voice appeared surprise. "You know of him?"

…"W-where are we…"

"Silver!" whispered Sonic, happily. The white hedgehog blinked groggily, shaking his head as if water was in his ears.

"Looms…. so hot. What happened…" He tugged twice on the binds on his hands. "Where's Nickel?"

"That's a good point," said Sonic, suddenly guilty. He had assumed Tails had escaped with Nickel. Taking anther look at his wrist, he noticed his wrist-comm had been removed. Idiotically, Ringo had not thought to remove his shoes. "I think they're safe."  
"You _think_?" asked Silver loudly.

The stranger, clearly dissatisfied by Silver's behaviour, hissed, "Tell your friend to be quiet before he earns us gags!"  
Struggling against the bonds, Silver seethed, "I knew this would happen! We should never have come here."  
"No, Silver, seriously, I can get us out you just gotta be patient."

"_I've _got to be patient – it was _you _rushingthese people back at that factory that put me in this mess! Who the hell was that girl?"  
"She's… I thought she was Fang…"

"Was _she _your girlfriend?"

"Silver, I do _not _have a girlfriend!"

"Did you even think before you tore up that building?" asked Silver, still angry but now with a touch of a curiosity, "I didn't even know you could do that. And then like ten guys – even with my PK I couldn't do that - I could never move fast enough. So then who's Fang?"

Ears suddenly flat, Sonic said, "Just drop it…"

"I will not!" burst out Silver (or as well as somebody could burst while whispering) "Everywhere we go it's a rollercoaster with you, and you keep me in the dark the whole way! I deserve to know – who's Fang!?"

This was probably the worst position he could be in one this subject. Unable to escape, he was forced either to confront the question or remain silent.

"Wait," Sonic realised that, not knowing enough of Silver's unique ability, Ringo and his thugs had not removed Silver's gloves or boots, "your gloves! You could do your PK magic!"  
Exasperated, Silver slumped his whole body in irritation. Glaring at Sonic for a moment, he eventually dropped his gaze, not so much in acceptance of Sonic's secrets but weariness in being unable to unveil them. Putting as much a his usual venomous sarcasm into his voice he spat, "With my hands palm to palm? Unless you want us all to explode I wouldn't recommend it. Besides, what am I going to do, melt the floor? There's nothing I could move that would break these." Silver tugged again frustratedly at his binds.  
Though wondering what Silver meant by 'explode', Sonic decided to move on.

The stranger said curtly, "Now that you two are finished, may I ask what the disruption in? I thought you said you planned for this?"

"I thought I said it was on the run!" exclaimed Sonic, as quiet as he could. "Look, just, both of you, we're getting into the city, and then we're busting out of this truck. Until then, just be quiet for a little while so I can concentrate. I haven't done this in awhile."  
"Done what?"  
Sonic breathed deep, and shut his eyes. "Ironically, a technique Ringo helped me learn.  
"He just never thought I'd actually be able to use it."

Now in the centre of the island, Shadow and Rouge were closing in on the emerald. Coordinates from intelligence would guide them to the rough location, then Shadow's instinctive draw to its energy would lead them the remaining distance. Deep as he was in the jungle, the thick canopy above nearly blocked out all moonlight entirely. His relied on his limited night-vision (much more effective in close-quarters, indoor situations) to ensure he did not accidentally slip into the hundreds of steep slopes, or into a bog.

From somewhere near the treetops, Rouge radioed in, _"I thought it was stressed this area of the island was mostly uninhabited?"_  
Shadow sighed, "What have you found?"

"_Look up."_

Shadow did so. The jungle was dense, humid and random. No pattern existed in the way the messy underbrush coalesced around thin, elastic trees. In the mountainous terrain that made travelling by foot so difficult, many trees were giants, forcing the forest canopy to about sixty feet high. Eyes narrowed, he focused on this canopy, but it was too dark.

"I don't see anything –what is it?"

"Then look closely at some of larger trees around you."

Holding back a growl of irritation at her love for intrigue, Shadow haughtily did as she asked. After a few seconds study of the some of the larger trees, patterns began to appear.

Suddenly feeling exposed, he ducked into the damp and muddy underbrush. "How many?"

"_It's difficult to tell, they're extraordinarily well hidden from a distance. It never breaches the canopy, I can see solar panels disguised as foliage up here, and bridges and lifts."_

The network of tree-houses was now impossible not to see. The wood was painted in green camouflauge, and cut without sharp edges and long lines. Lifts and bridges mimicked vines and were mostly concealed by real canopy. This he now saw wherever he looked.

"We're in a hornets nest…"

"_Maybe not. This could be a way to hide civilians…"_

"Pirates don't have civilians."

"_That's a handy way for a military organisation to think."_

Shadow shook his head, and focused all energy on pinpointing the emerald. They were almost on top of the coordinates.

"You've done missions here before, Rouge, you never argued with it then."

"_That was before we found this. I'm going to continue scouting."_

Shadow took a series of deep breaths to slow his heart back down. He'd been struck by more dangerous surprises, after all. It's not like he hadn't been hiding from enemies from above given the Black Fleet's core weapons were airborne ships. And not only was the jungle thick but pitch black. The Pirates above were likely all asleep.

He still moved slower than before. Sliding into a sharp, wet ditch, he kept slow and moved close to the ground. After nearly twenty minutes jumping, rolling, climbing and running through the jungle his entire bottom half was nearly caked in mud.

"_We're nearly on top of it."_

"I know… I can feel it."

A sudden rumble vibrated through the ground. Shadow stopped still.

"_The distance is too for me to make out accurately, but I can see at least half a dozen ships just took off from the water. At least four corvettes."_

"Do you think Redfreid's finished with Torrent?" said Shadow, resuming his pace. The network of treehouses seemed never-ending – in fact their concentration appeared to be increasing.

"_It's likely."_

"I have it."

Leaping one last muddy, slippery ditch with more vigor than he had dared show before, Shadow allowed the energy of the emerald to overwhelm his specially tuned senses. He felt he could taste, hear and smell the emerald simultaneously.

"_There's a large tree-house to the north of you. It's… actually quite amazing. It's built over a steep waterfall, can you hear it? _

"Just," said Shadow, focusing entirely on the emerald's scent.

He had almost been lying, he was too fixated on his search, but as he slipped silently over damp leaves and flexible branches, Rouge's treehouse appeared.

Now that he focused on it, he had to accept her wonder. It must have been the central point of the jungle network, and here, deepest in the jungle, the most obvious. Though it did not breach the canopy, it created a subtle yet bold wall of wood built almost like a temple. It was built alongside the river before it transformed into a waterfall. Extending from near the canopy were a network of bridges. Vines and trees laced and obscured its dark walls, from this ferns grew, giving it the appearance it had been overrun.

It had been overrun.

The thought had just appeared in Shadow's head when Rouge made the connection.

"_And here I got my hopes up somebody had actually come up with something special here. This place isn't camouflaged, it's abandoned."_

Far from upset, Shadow was grateful.

"Come down, there's no need to hide, there really is nobody here."

A glint of light blue light, unnatural, from his left, near the foot of the giant treehouse, close to the edge of waterfall.

He spun, and grinned wickedly as he saw it, red eyes piercing the dark. Half-hidden between leaves and vines and underbrush.

Two wings rushed through the canopy and into the sky.

Irritated, Shadow said, "Rouge, I said come down."

"I'm right here."

Looking at him as if slightly offended, she had landed silently behind him, on a rock protruding from the rapidly moving river.

Which meant –

Shadow spoke darkly. "He's here."

They had been driving for perhaps half an hour, and Sonic was beginning to feel under pressure – not at all what he needed right now. Silver's huffs and nervous twitches were not helping. Even with his eyes closed, the three of them were shoved so close to together Silver could not so much as breathe without disturbing Sonic. The sway of the truck and bumps on the road and the heat and his thirst were all tugging at his attention, making it difficult, if not impossible, to concentrate.

The last time he had done this, however, Sonic reminded himself, he had been under enormous pressure. In fact he had been certain he'd been about to die, which, due to circumstances and experiences he'd rather not remember, had allowed him to relax enough in order to enter what his teacher at the Bu Xi Tai academy and Ringo had called 'The Alpha State'. It referred to the types of brain waves they were capable of producing, and controlling them to alter pain, strength, reflex, hunger or thirst. Mind over matter, except Sonic was pretty sure the last time had been a fluke and after years of barely thinking about it he was unlikely to ever enter the Alpha State again.

"Just concentrate…" he murmured to himself, slowing his heart back down.

"Sonic," muttered Silver through gritted teeth, "Are you ever actually going to do anything?"

Sonic ignored him, head bowed.

"Sonic…" snarled Silver.

"Leave him, be," snapped the stranger, "I'm tired of your bickering."

Silver turned his irritation from Sonic to her.

"Who are you, anyway?" Silver squinted in the dark. He thought she might be a cat. "You're not one of them?"

"Obviously," she replied, dryly, shaking her fisticuffs. "No, I ran for help. They didn't like that."

"But they can't contain a whole a city," said Silver, puzzled.

"They do not need the whole city, just those who run it. Hm." She made a happy, curious kind of noise, as if entertained, "You don't know who I am, do you?"  
"Uh… I don't know most people, um, here," saying 'on the planet' sounded a bit dramatic.

"Ha. Well maybe for the better, then." she said. Silver saw the tips of ear flick with satisfaction. She seemed snooty, and Silver could not help but assume her to some kind of aristocrat. It would match with Shamar's current situation and explain Ringo's interest in keeping her contained.

"Can they really just… take over your country?" asked Silver. He remembered Tails' explanation of Shamar's complicated relationship between its ruling council and the military.

"Over my dead body." said the girl through clenched teeth, wholly serious.  
"That's very drastic…" said Silver, alarmed. He shot a glare at Sonic as if it was his fault.

"The people are frightened… frightened of Robotnik. But the military cannot run a country."

"R-right." Silver knew nothing and cared little for politics, especially here on this foreign world. Sonic had got them mixed up in this mess. Silver cursed himself for not taking Nickel and striking out on their own. Sonic was a loose cannon, and all three of them, Tails _and _Knuckles, were wrapped up in affairs Silver could barely comprehend.

"What's your name?" she asked, "I know his." She nodded to the mute Sonic.

"Silver," he sighed. He wanted to moan, scream even. He didn't want to be here, he didn't _need _to be here. But it seemed it would accomplish nothing. When Sonic was free, when _he _was free, he'd let his feelings loose.

"Yours?" he asked, deadpan, not really caring. He wondered what would happen when the van halted.

"Ki'assa I'tidal Emuishèr Ra… I guess there's little point hiding it at this point." She pronounced her first name to rhyme with 'tie'.

When Silver did not react, she asked of him with some urgency, "That means nothing to you?"

He shrugged. He vaguely remembered Tails mentioning a 'Ra' in the context of leadership.

"I am seventh in line to the Sun!" she cried indignantly. "Seventh imperial sovereign heir apparent! Emiress of Mahal and life-delegate to the Royal foreign affairs commission!"

"The… what?" asked Silver, leaning away at her outburst. He'd never heard of an 'Emiress' or Mahal, and how could you be in line to the sun?

"By the Ra, where are you from, another planet? The title of Ra has existed for thousands of years! You insult me in your ignorance!"

"Alright alright… wow."  
"OW!"

Sonic suddenly yelped and jerked to the right.

"Ow ow ow ow!" he snarled, holding his hands tight to his chest.

"Sonic… you're free!"

Silver could just see the broken fisticuffs lying in their metal hook on the floor. In breaking them, it seemed, Sonic had not prepared for the whiplash.

"Mauro, that stings," he hissed, standing as best he could in the swaying truck, shaking his wrists as if trying to shake the pain out. "Well I wouldn't exactly call that the Alpha State, but it worked!" Sonic was completely unsure whether his meditation had worked or if it had just been the enhanced strength millions of Magic Rings allowed.  
Silver tugged at his own fisticuffs, hoping to replicate Sonic's success.

"How do I get free?" Silver demanded.

"Working on it. You – you're the Ra's daughter?" Sonic felt that explained a lot. Shamar was a tricky place. With Ki's influence, she might have just reinstated herself as leader in her father's place elsewhere in Shamar, eradicating the military's legitimacy through their coup. "Excellent..."

To Silver's shock, Sonic retook his position beside him, holding the broken fisticuffs to his wrist.

"What are you doing, get us out of here!"

"What do you want me to do, topple the truck? Then what? We need to get to Pylon, remember? And if we've got _her_," he indicated Ki, "and they've already rounded up all the politicians and whatever then they might be taking us to join them."

Ki spoke, "I imagine they'll want to ransom you to Robotnik, however, not leave you captive with me."

"Tell me, for a royal you're pretty calm about all this. I thought some powdered princess might be more than a little upset about a coup?"

Ki swelled. "I am a trained Gyasi…" she deflated a little, an explained in a lower tone, "I am the youngest of seven girls. My chances of ruling are slim. So, as well as my studies, I train in the Gyasi art."

"Never heard of it."

"We guard the most sacred of sites!"

"Right."

"What are you doing, anyway? Stop our captors! I order you to!"  
Sonic chuckled. "Not a chance. I'm here to get Pylon. I wouldn't have minded some in-flight entertainment other than you two but those thugs are probably taking me straight to him."  
"I will scream, and tell them you're free!"

"Then I'll leave you here, all chained up." Sonic doubted he could do that, but he'd rather her not do what she threatened.

"You will anyway!"

"Don't be ridiculous," Sonic said, stalling, "Don't worry, after all if I get Pylon out then there's your chief of police free to fight for Shamar!" He said the last three words with gusto. "C'mon, Ki. There's like a thousand people who'd throw a fit if I started getting mixed up in a foreign powers politics. Let me do what I can."

He _hated _these kinds of situations. Words meant little – if he saw Ringo and his pals actually hurting innocent people, then politics would mean even less.

"And _how _are you going to get your friend Pylon out?" asked Silver, "No – who even _is _Pylon?"

"Old friend" –

"So? Look where I am!" he shook his binds viciously, "tell me what I'm here for!"

"I, too, would like to know what you'd want with my father's chief of police," said Ki, quietly.

"He…" Sonic faltered while trying to squirm out of the question – where to begin? The entire world did not know, but the success of the Robotnik war on the side of the free was down to Pylon. Pylon believing in Knuckles when he said Echidna technology could give them an edge, Pylon letting them through the gates when they were just children and into Robotnik-occupied Spagonia in order to steal and deprive the despot of Magic Rings, Pylon with his unique contacts persuading the U.F and GUN to involve themselves in the war, Pylon who had kept Sonic together in his darkest hour. The war had ended to the rest of the world with the destruction of Robotropolis, the freeing of all the roboticised. But to Pylon, as long as Robotnik still lived his personal crusade continued.

"Guys, I honestly wouldn't know where to start," said Sonic. "Without him, I doubt any of us would be here. So I'm going to get him out, and if I can I'm going to stop Ringo, too."

11


	19. Chapter 18 - Wolverines and Weasels

Chapter 18

Wolverines and weasels

By the time the truck rolled to a stop Silver had never felt so uncomfortable. The heat was unbearable, dirt stuck to the sweat in his fur, he had a headache directly from thirst and he was scared out of his mind. Though he would never admit it, he was actually glad Sonic was there with him. Despite his anger towards the hedgehog, if anybody would quick-witted enough to get them out of this, it would be him and his broken fisticuffs.

Gravel grinded beneath the truck's wheels as it stopped. Silver's heart seemed to double in pace. Obviously it was noticeable, because Ki said under her breath, "Stay calm."

The truck rocked as the driver and his companions disembarked. When the rear door to the truck opened orange light flooded the cabin. Pupils stinging, Silver closed his eyes and looked away.

Eyes shut the entire time, Silver offered no resistance as he was unlocked from the welded ring, and pulled bodily from the truck.

So far from home, Silver suddenly felt horribly out of his depth. His only solace was that at least Nickel was, presumably at least, safe with Tails. A cold pit writhing in his stomach, he looked nervously at his captors.

The giant wolverine could be seen standing head and shoulder over another truck in front of them. His thick black and yellow jacket added to his bulk. Everybody else were desert cats, clad in dark cloaks, hoods or turbans to protect from the searing sun. The exception was the weasel, her fur a distinctive reddish-pink colour under a heavy trenchcoat. She had a long, pointed face and small, mean eyes. Silver was careful not to make eye-contact with any of them.  
His eye was caught, however, by the sheer grandeur of the Pyramid Kingdom.

The structures were massive, and clearly ancient. The monstrous domed building that towered overhead obscured most of his view. Twelve pillars thirty feet tall held an intricately carved courtyard roof aloft that stretched away from the main building and over their heads. The cream-brown stone, perhaps it was clay, ended at the floor, which was composed of marble-like tiles. Vines that flowered orange bulbs snaked gently up the pillars, additionally concealing most of the roof.

At the very end of this courtyard, Silver could still see left and right. Towering minarets speared into the sky above more domed structures, golden spires atop their onion-like bulbs shining in the evening sun. Large courtyards filled empty space, often featuring majestic fountains and palm trees, though the former ran dry at present. The courtyards held features littered on the ground of a day left in a hurry – a handbag or parasol here, a pile of paper there.

The Pyramid Kingdom sat within Shamar City, and beyond the river-moat and its four simple bridges the skyline bounded across hundreds of years into clean skyscrapers organised in blocks around their bitumen roads.

Sonic whistled with awe as he exited the truck, and was shoved roughly for it by the nearest captor. However, Sonic just looked at the captor with some amusement until, to Silver's great surprise, the cat looked away. He thought he heard Sonic murmur, "Good choice," but could not be certain. The cat did not retaliate. Instead, the weasel took her place, and firmly steered Sonic forwards.

The evening was giving way to night quickly. Already, a few stars could be seen in the sky.  
The hulking wolverine, Ringo, lead the way up the short stairs to the paved area within the pillars. Head high, Ki was prompted to lead the three of them. Silver could finally see her properly, and suddenly felt like shooting Sonic yet another dirty look as it dawned on him he might not have been in awe of the Pyramid Kingdom earlier.

She said she was royalty, and she fit the part. She wore an ankle-long, fitted red cloak finished with golden lace, though crumpled and dusty from the journey, around her slender frame. The grandeur stopped there. Her dark boots, an empty utility belt slung across her waist (Silver had no idea what a princess needed with that, but remembered her mentioning something about being trained in Gyasi, which may have explained it) simple loose trousers and dirty singlet did not belie wealth and status. Though a captive, she walked with her head high, as if all that surrounded her was her own property – Silver supposed it was.

Incredibly, Sonic had managed to lure the weasel into banter.

"Now now, handsome, don't go giving my boys trouble now." said the weasel. Some of the rebel cats looked away from Sonic, who disappointingly dropped his attempts to taunt them.

"Jackie," acknowledged Sonic with a sarcastic smile, "how's our favourite insane middle-child-syndrome sufferer?"

"Clearly better than my favourite homeless junkie."

"'Adrenaline'-junkie, let's put that in context a little bit." He paused, before saying, "And sorry about before. I thought you were your slimy traitor of a brother" – he was cut off as he held back a yelp, wincing painfully – Jackie had jabbed him sharply in the kidneys.

"Don't mention him!" she snapped like ice, "He's no brother of mine."

It hadn't been the answer Sonic had been fishing for, but he remained silent.

They were lead inside. Silver did the best he could to keep one boot in front of the other. He remembered Sonic's confidence in his psychokinesis back in the truck, but Silver was not so sure. He had meant what he had said in Central City – he had never used psychokinesis in combat. Unlike Nickel, who he knew had often snuck off from under their father's watchful gaze to throw sticks at passing birds and build his strength crushing trees, he had no adventurous spirit. He had poor reflexes, and, as he was discovering, scared easily. Throwing people off their feet appeared easy enough, but what if he shook too hard to hold the field steady? What if, in his fright, he was unable to concentrate in order to command the consistency of a psychokinetic field and it crumpled before his eyes? And his shame in doing so in front of Sonic was too insufferable to consider.

They marched in silence through the great dome's archway and into a most grand interior. Dozens of pillars supported elegantly shaped buttresses beneath the soaring dome. Windows decorated its sloping walls, letting a great amount of light in to illuminate beautiful patters both above and below. The buttressing arches formed a square around the dome's perimeter. And still the building continued. Taking a right into an adjoining room, the wolverine had to squeeze through past the smaller archways. He was like a human in an anthrohuman dwelling, except the Pyramid Kingdom was once the centre of trade between all lands, human and anthrohuman, and was built to accommodate both races. Ringo was a freak.

Through to the next room, they were met with the sight, sound and smell of upwards of three hundred people.

All of them looked like aristocrats or businessmen and women. Half wore suits, the other half highly decorative floor-length robes. Nobody appeared injured or in any great distress.

They could see outside clearly from this room through three roof-high windows in the shape of solid arches: a pristine courtyard dotted with palm trees, clay benches and shallow pools glittering like crystal. An elegant colonnade ran the length of the opposite building, another clay structure built like a church with sloping features.

Inside, a clay staircase hugged the wall on the far side, leading to a large lattice door beyond which they could not see.

One of their captors suddenly grabbed Ki roughly by the shoulder, dragging her towards the staircase.

"Hey!" cried Silver, taking one step after them, more out of surprise rather than bravery. He stopped in his tracks when Ringo suddenly side-stepped between them, leaning down so as to be no more than a foot away from Silver's face.

"STAY." The wolverine said. His tail thumped and his exhaled breath smacked Silver in the face as hard as his command. His head was as big as Silver's entire body.

Eyes narrowed with rage, Ringo slid his gaze from the terrified Silver to Sonic behind him. "I WILL DEAL WITH YOU SOON."

The guards behind them saluted, and the wolverine turned to follow Ki without another word. Jackie shoved her face near Silver's as she passed, startling him, before sauntering after Ringo.

"You ok?" asked Sonic. Silver turned around, face ashen.

"Y-yeah… I-I don't like her very much."  
"Me neither, buddy." said Sonic, earnestly. His kidneys stung in agreement.

"And I don't understand how he's so big."

"He mentioned 'the pool', I can only guess he meant the Shamar Ring Pool. But," Sonic looked down as he thought aloud, "But nobody's given him a Magic Ring, so I think I know what it is." His head suddenly snapped up, "Anyway, PYLON!"

Sonic strode confidently into the crowd, who parted with proximity, expressing alarm at this loud intrusion. The only exit to the room was behind the guards at the door they had entered from and the one upstairs. Both guards at the first portal appeared confortable knowing that, dehydrated and hands bound, Sonic could not pass them. Both presumptions were wrong, and Sonic was saddened that he might not be able to prove this to them. Silver hurriedly followed before he lost sight of the blue hedgehog amongst the crowd. Still Sonic called, "Pylon! I've come halfway across a continent so you really better be here!"

Silver stuck close as Sonic waded through the less than hospitable crowd. Most appeared more frightened of Sonic's presence, or perhaps just his loudness. Yet Sonic's aplomb was comforting to Silver, a deterrent to the panic he thought might have submerged him by now. Sonic made being a hostage look like a field trip.

A gruff, formidable voice proclaimed:

"And you took your time about it, too, boy."

Closing the gap they left behind them stepped a tall, dark lynx. His eyes were made intense by the black markings around them. The black fur tufts extending past his ears gave him an aura of alertness. An adult, his eyes looked older than his body, which itself was greyed in patches around his muzzle and spine. After a second under his daunting glare, Sonic smiled, green eyes bright with recognition. Instantly, Pylon's demeanor shifted, and the two embraced as old friends. Silver remembered Sonic mentioning something about a scar when he had awoken in the truck, and indeed, under the leather jacket worn by the big cat Silver could discern mutilated fur.

Stepping back, Sonic said, "Is Pickle with you?"

"He is," said Pylon, nodding behind him, a warmth now twinkling in his intense eyes. There hunched the only human in the room, an elderly man in a brown suit. He did not see them, and stared morosely at the ground. Pylon confirmed, "He's a professor you know, apparently?"

"Yeah." Sonic craned his neck with concern in order to see Pickle better – the elderly Professor did not appear to be taking his current situation well.  
"Good, glad you're going back to school, he's a very knowledgeable man. Did your mother choose him as a tutor?"

Sonic reddened. "Actually he helped me fix the world up all those months ago. I learnt a lot about world geography… I guess."

Silver was about to clarify what 'fix the world up' meant, but stopped himself when he remembered Nickel's answer when he asked what Shadow was. Maybe he didn't want to know just yet.

Pylon's gaze appeared to harden. "Hmm."

"C'mon, Pylon, you taught me all I need to know. _I _remember you convincing Mum to let me out of school so I could, you know, kick robot-butt, catch Magic Rings, save the world."  
Sounding almost like a parent, Pylon responded evenly, "That was a different time. Exactly what excuse do you have now for gallivanting across the world doing whatever pleases you?"

Sonic leaned back, grinned, and announced, "That I'm one of the most powerful people in the world and nobody can stop me."

Pylon's eyes narrowed, but before he could reprimand Sonic for his arrogance Silver cut in.

-"Excuse me?" Pylon and Sonic turned to him, only just realising and remembering he was there respectively. Silver waved with his bound hands. "Hi. I'm Silver. You called us here. We're here – now can we go?"

"Which brings me to our next issue!" Sonic cried, "I know I just said about power and nobody who can stop me and all but, uh, some people can make it difficult. They're more likely to make it difficult if I _remind _them I exist by butting my quills into situations like this that I have nothing to do with."

Pylon raised an eyebrow, "You think you have nothing to do with this?"

"Well…" Sonic looked around, "This seems pretty far from anything Robotnik."

Pylon barked a laugh, his smile a grin of revenge. "Then I'm about to make your day."

The lynx crossed to the nearest businesswoman. Before the woman could protest, Pylon had gently taken her suitcase from her, and quickly hurled it through the window.

Silver wasn't sure what shattered louder – the glass or his composure, or that of the exhausted crowd. Shards rained down, forcing the crowd nearby to rapidly backpedal amidst shouts of alarm and fear.

"You're mad!" he cried, eyes shooting from the stunned guards to Sonic, who actually looked mildly surprised. "What have you done?"

Ringo held similar sentiments.

A deafening roar from above signaled his presence. Claws on the railing, his green eyes searched madly for the culprit. He inevitably found Sonic.

"Nice arm, Pylon," said Sonic a little weakly to the satisfied lynx, "but what exactly…"

"There!"

The crowd yelped again and three silver figures smashed the remaining windows on their entry, crumpling the clay beneath their three-toed feet as they landed.

Sonic stared blankly at their domed heads and unsymmetrical vision sensors, then pivoted on one heel and began striding towards Ringo's balcony. He dropped his hands, no longer pretending the cuffs still held.

"You're such an idiot, Ringo," is all he said, a cruel smile spreading across his face.

Rouge leapt high and disappeared into the dark with several strong bursts of her purple wings, but Shadow stood still, reading every detail he could of the descending creature he possible could. Despite himself, he could not help but mutter, "What are you?"

Nyx landed heavily – more so than it appeared his light frame should have. His wings, bat like in appearance, their membrane between the bones nearly translucent but for a tint of green, folded neatly behind his back and between his quills. Shadow didn't know what Nyx was, but was certain this creature was about as natural as he himself was. His eyes were fixed on Shadows with a strange emotion Shadow could not place. Hunger? He radiated some kind of menacing superiority – or something more than that. His yellow eyes were hard, and appeared to getting more venomous by the second. They pierced into Shadow as if, inexplicably, they hated everything he was and had been.

"_Shadow, get the emerald _now." Rouge's voice rang with urgency.

Shadow had taken one step towards the cyan stone when Nyx, with the quickness of a bird, mirrored his step, one fingerless-gloved hand outstretched not with aggression, but with amity. His unnatural yellow eyes emanated hostility. The emerald in his forehead was impossible, yet it was there. A sliver of the green emerald protruded like a scar from his scales.

"Ah. Please, don't do that."

Staring with animosity at the strange creature, Shadow waited. His nerves remained taut, his weight forward. Nyx was not anthrohuman, not human, not Echidna. That only left one terrifying conclusion.

"You're Black Arms!" snarled Shadow, "They're back!"

Nyx only appeared cruelly amused now.

"_Shadow, keep it together!" _Rouge reprimanded from above. Shadow's eyes flicked up, but he could not see her.

"They're still out there!" protested Shadow aloud, trying to drown out the noise of his sinking heart. Yet Nyx's amiable expression irritated him. He could feel it getting under his skin. Why was he looking at him like that?

Nyx reclaimed his outstretched hand. "Perhaps…"

Again, Shadow could not hide his shock as the cyan emerald, seemingly of its own doing, floated towards Nyx, spinning fractured cyan light like a strobe.

Eyes wide, Shadow tried to make sense of this. He had only ever seen the emeralds commanded by Black Doom. They responded to Shadow's touch, but nothing more until he had all seven. Was it psychokinesis, as displayed by the young white hedgehog in Sonic's company? Was _he _involved in the Black Arms?

Reason tickled Shadow's racing brain. Nyx bore no resemblance to the echidna-variant Black Arms race, and the boy, Nickel, was clearly a hedgehog. Nyx was something else.

"You are to surrender yourself to GUN!"

Nyx spoke as if he hadn't heard Shadow. With viciousness tinged with regret, he hissed, "One day, our encounter will be far more satisfying than this. I swear to you that."

"_Stop him, we need that emerald!" _cried Rouge as Nyx's wings unfurled.

Nyx appeared on the brink of escape, but pulled his weight back at the last minute, his attention focused now into the distance somewhere behind Shadow, past the cliff.

A flash of light, and a low, menacing rumble filled the air. Shadow kept his eyes on Nyx, and so asked Rouge, "What was that?"

"_I think that was Redfried. Keep watching the winged freak, by all means, but this is some fireworks show."_

Shadow didn't need to look; he had seen MagnoThermals go before. Their volatility proved for devastating accidents. He did not flinch when the shockwave tremored over them, a wave of dust and hot air. Nyx's arrogance was astounding; he wasted time in Shadow's presence to observe the disaster. Did the light of the explosion light up the ships around it?

Shadow was satisfied when, with a loud _crunch_, his fist collided with an unsuspecting Nyx's throat. It would have killed a human, but if Shadow was sure of anything it was that Nyx wasn't human. As his momentum carried them both back into the running river, Shadow deftly snatched the now airborne emerald, and spindashed to the shore.

"_SHADOW, HE'S NOT DO"-_

Shadow had only just landed when something painful struck him in the back, though his quills absorbed most of the blow.In a flurry of mud and water, he spindashed away, still clutching the emerald tightly.

He was brought to a stop as his back collided with the base of the great wooden treehouse, which up-close appeared to be rotting, if not close to collapsing.

Stabilising himself, he collected his senses. Sharp red eyes glaring fiercely where recoil had left them, he strained his ears for incoming danger.

Thrusting his elbow upwards, it brutally connected with Nyx's jaw like a piston.

But again, a blow that would have probably knocked even Sonic or Knuckles unconscious (if not put them straight in a coma) only dazed Nyx.

They broke apart. It unnerved Shadow how quick and strong this creature was. Shadow leapt nearer to the cliff-side (getting a view of the remainder of the explosion, a dull-red wreck still falling into the ocean), putting a good thirty feet between himself and Nyx, who flew a storey high to latch a foot and handhold on the treehouse. A degree of achievement warmed Shadow at the sight of his foe staggered by his blow. He felt even better when Nyx curled his hand into a fist and, wings spread menacingly wide, snarled, "Enough!"

Smiling, Shadow stood straight. He held the emerald out in front of him, as if offering it, letting Nyx observe how the stone bathed his fur in its cyan light.

"Come and get it," he taunted.

"Get moving!" roared Vector, teeth flashing dangerously as he snapped the laptop shut. The hut Metal Sonic had disappeared into was no more than debris and a cloud of dust. Throwing the device into his backpack, Vector grabbed tiny Charmy-bee and made for the exit. Bursting into the narrow, winding street, half a dozen people (mostly jaguars or crocodiles like himself) were staring into the sky. They all took a sudden half-step back in shock, their eyeline now low.

"Buggerbuggerbugger," Vector cursed, side-stepping into a narrow, dirty alley. Something big and fast stirred the air behind him – Vector heard screams.

Stomping over rubbish and puddles, he sprinted as hard as he could through Chillidore's humid atmosphere.

Charmy-bee chanted, "Espio's gonna get you, Espio's gonna get you!" high into the sky.

"Shut up! Or I'm leaving you home next time!"

"Hey, Knuckles _did _say that" –

"I know what he said!" Vector skidded around a corner and threw himself into an even narrower alley. The rooftops completely concealed him from the sky – perhaps he'd lost him.

"Vector, where's Espio" -  
"Shush!"

Vector watched the alley's exits with apprehension, tension curled tight around his body. At least they had found an old Robotnik hideout.

It didn't seem like much consolation when a ball of red-hot metal crushed through the ceiling of corrugated iron.

"GO – Charmy!" roared Vector, all but throwing his little friend into the air, away from the monster. Dread and adrenaline pumping through his body, he turned to face the fight he'd know he'd never win.

Metal Sonic stood, debris falling from his frame. Vector recognised it as the second generation clone he had had helped hand over to GUN three years ago. This seemed a coincidence – he had gotten word that a _new _Metal Sonic, as recently as two days ago, had appeared in Green Hill Zone. So what was going on?

He doubted he would ever find out.

Yet, the lanky, silver-and-blue frame took one step forward, and then exploded in a burst of dust and debris.

Or at least that what it seemed. In actuality, a bulky blur of red had charged it from above, and with one brutal blow crushed it into the ground. Concrete shattered beneath them.

"Knux!?" exclaimed Vector, bewildered. "How…?" Vector fell quiet as Knuckles' battle-snarl faded into a frown of curiosity. Metal Sonic did not get up.

"Did I get him?" asked Knuckles into thin air, lifting his fist in surprise.

In hindsight, he didn't know why he had bothered to entertain the idea.

The alley wall to his left crumpled as he was tossed through it. Landing on a bed of concrete and mud, he grabbed a piece of heavy debris to his left and clubbed the incoming Metal Sonic as hard as he could away from him. It landed beside him, but was not stunned.

"Primary directive dictates I must destroy Sonic the Hedgehog."

It wasn't the voice Knuckles had heard Metal Sonic use before – Metal's greatest weapon was his sentiency. As it turned out, it had also been his creator's greatest threat. But this voice was robotic, emotionless.

Knuckled didn't have much time to think about what that meant. Recovering, Metal suddenly brandished two blades running the length of his forearms.

Knuckles turned, dove for a nearby rusty pipe. He swung around in time to parry Metal so they were nose to nose, horrible red eyes glaring into his with hate.

"Good to see you, too," Knuckled huffed, straining to hold the robot back. Up close, Knuckles could see Metal was far from full strength. Three years being studied by GUN, and presumably putting himself back together again in a short amount of time, had literally stripped him of most of his body. Most of the armour on his body was missing, wire hung from irregular areas, and he was missing his hands.  
It was grotesque, and if his life wasn't in danger Knuckles might have felt a grain of sympathy for what Metal appeared to have endured. But it was not nearly enough to overcome his impulse to put Metal out of his misery.

Probably due to the stripping of his body, Metal's strength gave out to Knuckles'.

With a roar, Knuckles pushed the robot back, and whipped the pole straight up to rake across its body.

Metal flew back, splinters of blue metal torn from its torso.

Victory surged through Knuckles' veins. _He could kill it. _

But Metal had sensed his own defeat. The two turbines on his bike whined to life, and Metal rushed backwards, and then into the air.

"Agh! Should've seen that coming." cursed Knuckles, climbing onto a nearby roof. Without Tails or Sonic, there was no way to reach it. Bitterly, he watched the robot shrink into the distance.

But not without jeopardy.

A gunshot made Knuckles instinctively fall flat to roof. He looked wildly for the source, but then out of the corner of his eye saw Metal jerk randomly down.

Another shot, and Metal flopped in the air.

The shooter kept firing, but Metal had too much distance. He escaped.

"Who..?"

Unable to see any sign of the shooter, Knuckles' climbed down.  
"Vector," he greeted the crocodile, stopping through the hole in the alley wall Metal had made. Vector had been sheltering from the fight and then the shooter.

"Who was that?" Vector asked, his usually coarse voice mingled with uncertainty and curiosity.

"Why weren't you at my island!" Knuckles' demanded. Though a third of Vector's height, Knuckles had no problem harassing the crocodile, and brandished his knuckles threateningly. Vector rolled his eyes and swung his shoulder's back in exasperation, further incensing the echidna. "You could have just told GUN where he was!"  
"They're the ones that let him get out!" protested Vector, loudly. "Sonic wasn't around – you weren't around, Amy didn't pick up, I didn't know how to get in contact with Team Dark – I just picked an option!"

"By leaving my island!?"

"Knuckles, GUN doesn't _care _about your stupid island!"

Knuckles was inches from hitting him. He would sooner throw himself from the island than believe GUN for a _second _when they said they had no interest in the Master Emerald.

"That's the _last _time I ever ask you to look after it!"  
"Fine – not like I was getting paid anyway."

Enraged enough to burst, Knuckles had to do with punching the wall to expel some of the frustration whirling through him. Already devastated, the remainder of the wall buckled, then collapsed. Vector just thumped his tail to express his dissatisfaction with Knuckles' behaviour.

Both of them stared daggers at each other until Charmy returned moments later.

"Knuckles!" he cheered.

"Charmy…"

"Is Sonic and Tails here!"  
"_Are _Sonic and Tails here," muttered Vector chidingly.

"Ah, no, they're somewhere else right now."  
"Oh… Just that I think he'd have been happy to see his double again!"

"Yeah?" laughed Knuckles in spite of himself (the funny thing was, knowing Sonic's sense of adventure, he probably would), "Why's that?"  
"'Cause imitation is the greatest form of flattery!"

"Right." He shook his head as if Charmy's ridiculous attitude was water to fling from his ears in order to think clearly. "If you two are here, where's Espio?"

"Ah…" Vector's eyes glazed for second, "Good point." He put the headphones slung around his neck to his invisible ears, then fiddled with something that resembled a music player hooked to his belt.

"Did Tails make that for you?" asked Knuckles derisively.

"Espio, come in – you okay?"

After a pause, Kncukles' keen ears heard Espio's voice crackle over.

"_I'm here. You better come see this."_

Espio wouldn't say anymore, but gave them instructions to move downhill to scrap dealership. Knuckles assumed they weren't going there to purchase third-grade transport.

In yet another dingy alley sweltering in the city's dirty sauna, they met with Espio amongst ruined car skeletons. Espio's race, chameleon, did hail from South Mazuri – which still led to some bewilderment due to his Azumakai accent and fighting style. A skilled martial artist and an obvious camouflage and stealth expert, Espio was the only part of Team Chaotix that Knuckles felt had any place standing up to Robotnik or other nefarious associations.

Espio stood straight and taut as a bowstring, seemingly ready to explode at every moment. His every movement, or lack thereof, was calculated and decided. His words were likewise in their usage.

He was a little too intense, Knuckles thought, but a magnificent combat veteran – which said a lot given he was only Knuckles' age of seventeen.

"Whatcha got, Espio?" asked Vector gruffly as they approached through the forest of decaying vehicles and appliances. Vector raised a surprised eyebrow as something caught his eye, "Don't think that belongs here."

Puzzled, Knuckles followed his eyeline. On the rotten hood of a car lay a long rifle. It was dirty and dull – but not from lack of attention. It was camouflauge.

Espio had their shooter. And Knuckles now had an inkling, an impossible inkling, of who it might be.

He strode forwards with urgency. Rounding the hood of the vehicle he saw a weasel in an overcoat and wide-brimmed hat slouched against it, hands casually raised to shoulder height.

It was Fang the Sniper. Back from the dead.


	20. Chapter 19 - Breakout

Chapter 19

Breakout

Ki had expected to see her father in the luxurious office. Instead it was her six sisters, all looking very sad and sorry for themselves. Talia, Alya, Mirrah, Yusirah, Kalila and Naveen. They stood quivering at the back of the room, behind a desk littered with messy paperwork held down by a dark stone paperweight. Their eldest, Naveen, was dressed in a western suit. She glared at her troublesome little sister, warning her to keep quiet. Two guards stood in the corners of the room, their feral fur spilling over the ragged clothes.

It had been many months now since she had personally seen any of them. They were a matched set, minor physical differences setting them apart. Ki noted with satisfaction she was now taller than Alya, the third youngest. Still, the sight of all of them held captive under armed guard felt like a punch to the gut; this was really happening, a coup was really underway.

"I understand the flock of you are actually quite dysfunctional," Jackie began, "So there we have something in common. I'm ready to be… diplomatic, on behalf of our similarities."  
"You do talk eloquently for a third-world patsy," said Ki, radiating superiority. The smirk did not drop from Jackie's face. She nodded to somebody behind her, and Ki did not have to turn around to know who.

Her elder sisters whimpered as the wolverine leant down so his elongated muzzle was beside Ki's ears, which flattened.

"YOU'RE GOING TO LEAD ME TO THE HOUSE OF ETERNITY. OR, WE CAN OBSERVE HOW WELL CATS LAND FROM LONG DROPS."

One of the guards grabbed Naveen, dragging her to the window. Talia and Alya burst into tears. Ki felt a flicker of anger towards them – how did this disgusting beast know she was Gyasi? Because one of them had broke down crying and told them everything.

A cold pit snuffed the hot irritation. As much as she disliked Naveen, she couldn't let her be thrown out a window – they had to be thirty feet off the ground. The alternative meant leading Ringo to the single place on Mobius she had been assigned as Gyasi to guard.

"What could you possibly want with the Gyasi?" she queried, heart suddenly beating quicker.

"THROW HER."

"No!" shouted Ki, taking one step forward, but the guards took no notice of her. Jackie swooped in, grabbing her arm and twisting it behind her back. She watched through tears of pain as the desert cats lifted her sister and –

The sound of crashing glass distracted them all, including the guards. The carnage continued for several seconds. The dirty hackles on the back of the wolverine's neck rose. Ki, again, had to marvel somewhere between terror and awe at his appearance. His lips curled in rage to reveal curved, razor-sharp teeth.

"HOLD THEM HERE." He growled. He stomped outside, plaster and stone crumbling as he shoved his way past the narrow doorframe.

From afar, Ki heard a familiar voice jeer, "You're such an idiot, Ringo!"

"The hell..?" whispered Jackie. Ki felt her grip relax ever so slightly.

In a snap second she tossed her head back. The back of her skull connected with Jackie's nose with a sharp crunch. Dazed, Jackie stumbled back.

Ki had just seconds. She dove forwards, grabbing the odd paperweight and hurled it at the guard manhandling her sister. It struck him in the head. Naveen recoiled as the man instead tumbled out the window.

The final guard cocked his weapon. Terrified, and out of weapons of her own, Ki sprinted towards him.

She silently thanked the thousands of hours of training she had suffered when her fist connected with the man's throat before his finger reached the trigger. Gagging and unable to breathe, Ki knocked the weapon from his hands and put him out of his misery with a brutal elbow to the side of his head.

"Ki'assa!" screamed Alya, clutching her sisters. Cold defeat plummeted into her stomach as Ki whipped around, sure to see the weasel aiming her long sniper straight at her.

But she had fled.

"What?" Ki shook her head: prioritise. She turned back to her sisters. "Are you unharmed?"

"They have Father!" sobbed Talia. Ki knew their father had fled, but their was no time to correct her. They all flinched as screams suddenly broke out from downstairs, followed by a deafening roar.

"What was that?" squeaked Mirrah. All but Naveen and Ki shrieked in fright as silver blurs sped past their windows. The screams downstairs got louder.

"Robotnik robots!" exclaimed Ki. The Mad Doctor, was he here? "You need to tell me everything you know, were their robots when you were captured?"

She had barely finished when sounds of gunfire erupted from downstairs. Alya, Talia, Mirrah, Yusirah and Kaliila, scared out of their minds, grabbed onto Naveen in absolute panic. Ki was scared herself, but she could not stop from rolling her eyes. She wouldn't get anything out of them. She strode for the door.

"Where are you going?" asked Naveen, voice a few pitches higher.

"Take the weapon that guard dropped, make sure when he wakes he cannot hurt you –

"Ki'assa" –

"I am going to lock you in here. If anyone comes in" –

"Ki!" Naveen demanded. Eyes hard, her voice commanded authority. In spite of herself, Ki stopped and allowed Naveen to look at her. Neither girls' blazing gaze relented.

"What are you doing? I will not see you hurt" –

"Our family is hurt! I am not alone – that Spagonian boy, Sonic – I don't know how he came to be here but he is. He's downstairs, and I think he has a history with these people that may benefit us. I need to see."  
"No, I forbid you! Ki!"

Ki had already slipped out the door.

Nyx brought his temper quickly under control. Taunt failed, Shadow waited for the monster's next move. His back faced the trickling waterfall. He estimated he was a good twenty feet from where the thin stream levelled out beneath.

Shadow thought it was his eyes tricking him at first. The sliver of the green emerald embedded in Nyx's forehead began to produce a sharp white light. Though small, it stung Shadow's eyes to look at.

"_What's going on?"_

Shadow truly did not know. Nyx did not move, but the light became harsher.

Then overwhelming. The pain in eyes escalated to almost unbearable levels.

Unable to see, Shadow's parry did little to affect Nyx's charge. A fast and powerful bat to his arms flung the emerald from his grip.

Sensing unknown danger, eyes tightly clenched, Shadow forsook the emerald and quickly dove backwards and over the steep cliffside.

Unable to see, he landed roughly, bouncing several times across rough, rocky surfaces as he slid uncontrollably down the muddy slope. It would have broken the body of a human. Through black lids Shadow just saw, and painfully felt, a wave of stinging white light pass overhead as he landed. He kept his head down, protected by his arms and the natural surroundings. He knew that whatever that light had been, it was a hundred times deadlier than the fall he had taken.

'_Dammit! Rouge, I dropped the emerald!' _He backed into the cliff wall, opening his eyes carefully. No damage, no fire. The environment was as still and sticky as before. He peered up to see no sign the light had ever existed. He cursed himself; that had been humiliating. His taunt had backfired terribly.

Nyx had not come after him. Shadow supposed the fall would probably kill most creatures, did Nyx assume this was true for him?

"…_Shadow!"  
_It was Rouge, but she sounded…  
"Are you hurt?"  
She sounded as if she spoke through clenched teeth.  
_"I-I think so. I can't open my eyes."_

"Stay put, I'm coming up" -  
_"No, just shut up, and listen."  
_Sharp squeaks and thuds reverberated through the mic. Shadow assumed she was removing it. From the bottom of the muddy cliffside, ankle-deep in the stream, Shadow peered up again. Light pollution blocked out most of the stars. On the tops of the trees he could perceive a faint, ethereal cyan glow.

Shadow was about to ignore Rouge's command when not one voice, but two, filtered through his earpiece.

Rouge did not need to see with her eyes. Her excellent hearing meant she 'saw' every sound and could associate an action to it.

She lay in the mud beneath the shrubs, half submerged. There was a terrible, crippling pain in her eyes that had seemed to come from nowhere. She had been what she had considered a good distance from the short-lived hostility between Shadow and the creature, and hidden beneath a small, muddy cove and sheltered by loose, tangled roots for good measure. She had been poised to snatch the emerald or flee depending on the situation – most of all she was protected from any wildly flung spears. Which was why the sudden blinding pain was unforeseen and inexplicable. She could not open her eyes. It burnt as if somebody had poured scalding oil over her face. That she had not made any sounds of distress was impressive. Still, Nyx had not yet taken to the skies. Which was why she outstretched her ear-pierce to the top of the cove, trying to transmit any valuable intelligence to the only other member of the team who might be able to act on it afterwards.

She heard, as she hoped Shadow would hear, Nyx's next careful words.

"Maia. Are you there?"

A pause. A whimper. And then a scramble.

"No! Maia, it's me! Look at yourself, look at what we've done."

The other voice was female. Young. Like a child's.

"I'm… I'm…"  
"You can solidify if you try, I am sure. You are energy now."  
"Energy..?" The girl paused again. Fear imbued in her every word she whispered, "What on earth are you?"  
"Like no other soul devised. I was consumed by Subject 6. And reborn with abilities beyond imagining, albeit divided. Maia, the sins of the past are mine and mine alone. But I _can_ undo the past." He laughed. Disbelief. "The things I have seen. The pain I have suffered. You would not believe a word."  
He paused. Rouge could hear him lick his lips. "Maia, I can undo this. I can stop it. I just need to get back" –

"No! What? You want to go back!?"  
"Please, I know you're confused and unsteady right now. But it won't be like last time."  
Maia sounded more than unsteady. Her little voice shook until it was barely legible. "W-we… we destroyed… dear Lord we destroyed everything. _Everyone! _Agh…"  
"What is it?"  
"I can feel… God, I don't know what it is. _Things_ – over there and over there. Like little lights."  
"It's ok, I know what it is." It sounded as if he smiled. "You're about to discover a very great gift. Tell me where they are."

Rouge snatched back her mic, and snapped into it, "Take them out, _now_!" 

Shadow really didn't need the prompt.  
In a single bound he leapt to the top of the waterfall. What he saw was shocking, but not enough to deter his aim or intention.

Nyx knelt next to a little human girl made of white-cyan light. She was not solid, but transparent. Wide eyes framed by straight, silvery hair that collected near her waist. The cyan emerald was anchored near her ankles.  
Face twisted brutally, Shadow tapped into the rage. He felt the electric furor surge up his veins, clouding his vision red and jolting his heartbeat.

Shadow roared, "CHAOS… BLAST!"

But Nyx reacted as if he knew what was coming.

"No!" shouted Shadow, but the incredible searing beam had been expended. A roaring explosion of heat and energy concentrated in a wide, circular beam had left a single, devastated streak of destruction through the rainforest. Fire sprung from the edges of the impact zone.  
But Nyx had evaded the blast. And taken the emerald. By the next second Shadow had leapt to the canopy, but he was much too late. Nyx had disappeared into the night, the emerald was gone.  
A sick feeling in his stomach as he relived the exact second he had dropped the stone to save his own skin, Shadow dropped back to the ground.

"Dammit. Rouge, I lost it. Where are you?"

"_Over here… To your right and down the slope. Small cove."_

Shadow cursed again. Rouge could not take flight after him, he could not contact Redfreid until their homeward-bound transportation, whatever it was, arrived. He remembered accusing Sonic of irresponsibility while with Fang at GUN HQ for losing an emerald, and felt the brittle grip of hypocrisy.

Shadow dropped down the slope. Barely a foot below was a tiny cove formed by the stubborn roots of a large tree that loomed overhead. The earth was muddy, in places almost a liquid.

Rouge emerged from the cove covered in mud as if she had been laying down in it. Her face was screwed up in pain.  
"Are you ok?" he said, helping her stumble out. She appeared injured but no wound was visible.  
"I can't see!" she hissed, "I don't know what happened…"

Shadow thought of the stinging he had felt in his eyes after the white light.

"It was an attack, I felt it too – can you open your eyes at all?"  
"No… no, it's too intense."

He pulled her back up onto higher ground and out of the mud. When the earth was flat and solid Rouge went down to her knees, both hands clutching her eyes.

"Is he gone?"

"Yeah." Shadow growled, not even bothering to watch the sky. He had another problem to solve. "He's gone. Our problem is you right now."  
The accusatory tone was not missed by Rouge who made an effort to stifle her small cries of pain.  
"I can hear. It will have to do."  
"You may be a bat but you do _not _have echolocation. Can you hear trees?"

"Enough, Shadow, you're not helping." snapped Rouge. He bristled in response, but it was not worth bickering. But Rouge got one last jab in there, possibly deserved.  
"That Blast of yours would have been seen. We need to get out of here."  
"Ah, this mythical transport option…" he cut off as he spotted something beneath Rouge's wing, like a shadow, shift ever so slightly. Then its little black head and tinier red eyes peeked out from over the ridge of her wing.

"Rouge, what the _hell _is that?"  
"What- where?"  
"Where on Mobius did you find a chao?" said Shadow, momentarily distracted. He knew chao developed from infancy on some kind of spectrum depending on their treatment from baby to adult. This one was black as night, had sharp, pointed teeth and tiny, though admittedly adorable, red eyes on his bobble-face. He was small enough to be enclosed in the palm of his hands.  
"He's just a little baby." Rouge dismissed the conversation, "I took him off a Pirate earlier. We need to move down to the coast. You're just going to have to help. Take us back to the same shoreline."

Eyes still clenched shut Rouge stood, wings spread wide and low for balance. Her annoyance at having her wings clipped equalled Shadow's frustration at their hindered mobility. He resigned himself to a crawling pace, and tried to stave of the pressure incumbent in the knowledge that as they started back downstream the Black Fleet would be closing in.  
The trip was mostly back downhill. After two minutes it was clear Rouge would be unable to open her eyes anytime soon. They sped up their cumbersome journey slightly when Rouge took Shadow's word on blind faith that no obstacle lay in her path and glided downhill, Shadow sprinting below her to guide her away from incoming terrain. They had little time to discuss the strange scene they had witnessed, and the revelation of the ethereal girl, Maia, impossibly anchored to a Chaos emerald. The rescued baby chao had taken refuge holding onto Rouge's wing.

They were only halfway down when Rouge announced she could hear incoming engines, most likely MagnoThermals. The canopy above was too thick for Shadow to see anything, so he continued. The pressure was mounting – how were they getting off the island?  
"Rouge, if you're keep something for dramatic effect, now would be a good time to share it."

Somehow, they made it to the shore without encountering a single Pirate. Free from the canopy, however, Shadow could see the blue glows of MagnoThermal engines descending on the jungle-island's mountainous peaks. They could not hide forever.

"I think I can hear it…" murmured Rouge.

"What?" questioned Shadow – if he concentrated, he could only hear an odd whistling, as if something heavy was swiftly cutting through the air.

An enormous crash of steel and water bombarded his senses. He instinctively grabbed two Chaos spears – but there was no point. The sudden tsunami of water was already on top of them.

Shadow grabbed Rouge just as they were swept away by the first furious wave, driving them both back up the shore in a single sweep. But the water receded, and they were left lying exhausted and soaking at the treeline.

Shadow forced himself back to his feet, dragging both of them to cover.

It was a Black Fleet ship – it had landed in the bay, its MagnoThermals off for stealth, much like a plane would on tarmac. This one was small and built for speed, a corvette, probably only manned by twenty people. Like all ships in the fleet it had an angular design, and its MagnoThermals were in-built to the sides of the curved steel hull as much as into its concave base. Its sails were modified from a traditional ship to most efficiently sequester solar energy and to have almost no wind resistance while flying.

But it appeared alone.

"Agent Shadow!" called a voice, a United Federation voice, from the deck, "It's ok, it's us! Be quick!" 

"You!" Knuckles boomed. Espio hissed his distaste, warned him to be quiet, but Knuckles found it difficult to listen. Fury suddenly licked at his heart. He spluttered for words, and shouted with rage, "You're alive!? You're supposed to be dead!"

Fang didn't say anything, just looked at him guardedly from under his grubby hat.

Knuckles paced back and forth. Did he hit him, shout at him? Haul him to GUN?

"You know him?" asked Vector.

"Know him!" protested Knuckles, "He chased us all over the world! Then he was a Robotnik spy, then he – WE TRUSTED YOU!"

Fang flinched, Espio's eyes flashed and Vector and Charmy exchanged awkward, bewildered glances, but Knuckles didn't care. The pains of years ago flooded out.

"I thought you died in Robotropolis!" he hissed, "How'd you get out?"

Fang replied emotionlessly, "You could ask your mate, Sonic?"

"Even he would have left you for dead!"

"Obviously, he didn't." growled Fang.

"Ok!" said Vector, the angst possibly too much for him at this point, "You two obviously haven't seen each other in awhile and have some catching up to do. But, if we can have some… civility, that would do well."

Knuckles was not having it, and snarled at Fang as if he had spoken instead of Vector, "Oh yeah, because you're the most civil person we'd ever known."  
"_Ok_, Knux!" reprimanded Espio, "So we take him to GUN. It's not up to us to pass judgement."

"Fine by me," declared Knuckles.  
"You could do that, but it wouldn't do you any good," said Fang, little inflection in his voice.

"Why?" responded Espio, flinging out an arm to stop Knuckled when the echidna made to stomp towards him.

"Because I work for them."

It was a surprise for Team Chaotix, but Knuckles just flung his head and laughed.

"Of course you do – Trinity, wait till Sonic hears this one."

"It's true. I tried to stop Metal Sonic, didn't I?" asked Fang, now with some strength in his voice, "Contact GUN – specifically you can contact my boss, Agent Shadow, he can vouch for me. I've…" Fang closed his eyes to sigh, before looking Knuckles in the eye, "I know this is difficult for you to hear. Given what I've done. But I've..." his eyes were downcast as he uttered the final word, "changed."

This time Espio had to physically restrain Knuckles. Fang did not step back as the echidna swung madly from behind Espio's shoulders, and was eventually flung back.

"THAT WAS FUNNY THE FIRST TIME WE HEARD IT!" roared Knuckles. Vector flung his arms wide in exasperation, but the joke had run thin on Espio. Noting the chameleon's livid expression, Knuckles just snarled, "I don't care, I will _not _travel with him!"

"Did I ask you to?" shot back Espio. "Return to Angel Island, I will escort him to Central City and confirm his story."

Nothing short of enraged by being ordered back to his Island, Knuckles growled and stomped.

"Fine!" he eventually snapped. "You watch your back around that weasel!"

Temper out of control, Knuckles swung on his heel and stomped out of the car yard. He saw nothing but red fog until he was nearly three blocks away, high enough back up the mountain he could actually see over the rusting compound. Not that he wanted to. Sharply turning into an alleyway, he tried to breathe deeply in his solitude.

Fang was alive? But he had perished in Robotropolis – Knuckles had witnessed the awesome detonation of dozens of nuclear weapons plus millions of tonnes of volatile ring energy from an entire country away. It had wiped Robotropolis off the face of Mobius. It would have taken a miracle to survive –

Knuckles stopped in his tracks. Only two other people had survived that event. And if he had to pick one responsible for this travesty, it would only be –

"_Sonic_!"

Ki sprinted from the room, her heart pumping faster and harder than it had ever in her life. Screams of panic from below rose through the air like smoke. Below, one-hundred people were taking their chance to flee, but the only exit was the one they had come through. Meanwhile, Ringo strode straight through what was left of _Asufzai's _three-hundred year old ceiling-high glass window.

"I will have your head for this, Pylon," snapped Ki, not altogether sure she did not mean it. The crowd was quickly dispersing further into the building. Neither their captors nor Pylon could be seen. Nor could Sonic's pale hedgehog friend. Through the mayhem she could see more robots condensing outside. Their legs and arms hung limp like wasps' until they landed - loudly. Ki flinched with every one as their claws crushed anything beneath. This was sacred ground. Virtually nothing was less than two centuries old. They had protected their golden capital against six years of the Robotnik war and were now going to see it flattened during peacetime.

The Spagonian boy was nowhere to be seen, but Jackie was.

The landing of the second floor swept across two thirds of the room; all but where the beautiful glass had once been. At the opposite end to hers Ki noticed Jackie slip out of a window and onto the stone canopy of the corridors bordering the outside courtyard.

Ki swiftly followed, keeping low behind the parapet – she did not want to rush into a confrontation, but it appeared a good vantage point to survey whatever Ringo was about to do next.

Heart seemingly stuck in her throat, she ducked under the window and peered outside to check it was clear. The drop to the roof was not large, and Ki would have landed silently if not for her shock at Ringo's sudden _roar_.

She stumbled in shock, then ducked to the floor.  
The roof was long and flat, with three small, squat spires running down the middle. The cream stone continued all the way around the rectangular courtyard. She was in the north-east quadrant of the Pyramid Kingdom. To the north was the Grand Ballroom, its dome still towered above. She imagined it was there the freed hostages would be converging. To the east a second courtyard as well as eventually the outer moat, to the south lay the Ptol Bank, as well as the rest of the Pyramid Kingdom. Nearly 500 meters away, the silhouette of the enormous Palace of Ra commanded the sky. To the west was the dividing moat between this quadrant and the north-western, a body of water twenty meters wide.  
And surrounding the entire Kingdom were the towering skyscrapers of Shamar city, glowing with electric light that dimmed the stars.

This city was sacred, and straight in the middle of a high-density urban environment. How on Mobius did Ringo intend to get away with this?

Ki's blood pounded faster with the sudden certainty that a coup was underway.

She crouched and quickly moved to the side of the parapet. Peering over, she could see perhaps a dozen tall, lanky robots dotter around the courtyard. They all faced in one direction – a figure standing languidly on the roof of the corridor perpendicular to hers. The electricity to the Kingdom had been cut off, there was only dim starlight to see with.  
The massive wolverine stood out in the open, head and shoulders above the robots. The lashed an arm through the air, and the robots fired from both arms again. Instead of bullets, focused balls of shimmering air streaked across the courtyard, exploding whatever they touched on impact. This time, Ki watched as the figure atop the parapet disappeared, as if he had simply flashed out of reality. Then, one by one, the robots collapsed.

A noise closer to Ki made her turn. It was Jackie. Not twenty feet away she was setting up what appeared to be gun tripod, aiming it at the scene below. What if Sonic was caught by surprise?

Heart in her throat, Ki realised she had the element of surprise, and carefully moved out of Jackie's line of sight.

Nearly directly behind her, flinching at the sounds of searing lasers and ripping metal below, Ki prepared herself. She would jab her once in the side to stun her, then hook an arm under her shoulder and leverage her head sharply into the parapet, hopefully rendering her unconscious.

'_Go, Ki, go!' _Ki leapt forwards, and within three strides she was upon Jackie –

who promptly spun around, realised her vulnerability and dove aside, expertly breaking the leap in a roll. Ki was left to crash clumsily into the parapet, frozen in disbelief. She did not think to somehow disengage the sniper, backing away before she realised her error. Jackie turned to face her in a half-crouch, drawing small knives from her jacket.

"Scoot, girlie," she snapped, brandishing the weapons.

Ki's eyes darted the courtyard below. The robots stomped around, Ringo paced, and a blur of blue irregularly flashed into close quarters, leaving its robot victim in pieces. Bright balls of hot energy continued to batter the courtyard, fired from the arms of the robots. Ki did not like her chances of getting off the roof.

"Look, just… just leave."

Jackie snapped like a whip, "I think when folks give advice they're talkin' to themselves."

Startled, Ki didn't say another word. But she stood her ground, taking a defensive stance. She wished she had anything that could stand in for her staff nearby.

Jackie shook her head, and said, "Have it your way."

She lunged forwards, the knives blurs of silver. 


	21. Chapter 20 - Alpha

Chapter 20

Alpha

The half-dozen robots were no real challenge. Sonic felt a little bad for the courtyard though.  
He zipped around it in a spindash as much as on his feet, using the environment for cover while irregularly picking off the robots from angles that allowed him to avoid Ringo and quickly duck behind a wall, fountain or tree. The hot balls of translucent energy the robots fired were slower than bullets, but blew large holes in the clay and set fire to the palm-trees. Sonic had already attempted to get the robots to shoot at Ringo, but the wolverine was quicker than expected, and positioned himself deftly throughout the cat-and-mouse shootout.

With two robots to go after two minutes, Sonic felt a little bored. He found himself playing with robots until he realised the damage he was causing to the courtyard was probably unwarranted. Him versus half a dozen robots? There were at least thirty back at Angel Island. At least Silver would be happy; this would be wrapped up soon.

The two robots stood at opposite ends of the courtyard, firing regularly. Ringo stood closer to the centre, yellow eyes watching Sonic's every move. Sonic saw an opportunity.

Timing his movements with the regular shots of the robots, he sprinted up the side of the courtyard's bordering corridors, leaping into the air with a powerful lunge.

While airborne, he noticed the silhouettes of two figures dashing together in a violent quickstep atop a roof to his left. Silver objects appeared to whirl around them, only visible from the moonlight they erratically reflected.

Good – if this went as planned he'd have at least one of the sniper siblings facing up to GUN before the night was out.

Sailing through the air in a precise arc, he landed nimbly at Ringo's feet in a crouch.

The wolverine already had both fists raised for the pummeling blow.

Using the energy stored from the landing, Sonic sprung off again, rolling back to the relative safety of the corridors. He had barely vacated the patch of space in front of Ringo before two balls of hot energy whizzed past each other, skinning Ringo's shins. A satisfying whump followed by shrieks of sheared metal signalled Sonic's success.

"Stupid hunks of scrap!" Sonic cheered, congratulating himself.

Kneeling from the pain of his burnt legs, Ringo roared in fury.

"Don't complain to me, man," quipped Sonic, not flinching, "I did tell you this was stupid."

Punching the ground so hard Sonic could feel it quake beneath his sneakers, Ringo rose, the bulk of his dark fur blotting out the moon as it crept higher above the horizon.

Sonic tossed his head in taunt, then began encircling the wolverine, walking carefully but confidently, trying to elicit an aggressive response. It was almost too easy; it was the same technique he used commonly against a number of opponents; Knuckles, Metal Sonic, even Shadow. Enrage the opponent until they're cooked, until they can barely think straight. That's when they mistakes, that's when the leave themselves vulnerable.

"C'mon Ringo!" yelled Sonic from amongst the rubble of the courtyard left from the robots, "Show me some of that rage! Remind me why Master Shukun chose to train _ME _over _YOU!_"

Ringo launched a full frontal attack. A rampaging train, his speed and power meant Sonic barely had to charge himself.

Deftly, at the last second he quickstepped the remains of the central fountain still standing vertical, and in a fierce spindash raked across the front of Ringo's face.

He felt a moderate pang of regret at Ringo's howl of pain, clutching his eyes in the throes of agony as he thudded to his knees. But he had little time to stop.

Briefly quitting his spindash, he saw Ki stumble and fall on the roof above. No momentum lost, he leapt the ten feet to the roof.

"Jackie!"

The weasel was bearing down on Ki, knives poised, but made the mistake of looking behind her instead of above.

Impossibly kicking off the air itself, Sonic spindashed straight down. Jackie was instantly stunned by the impact, Sonic's velocity driving them both to the ground in an ungainly crash. Recovering quickly, Sonic knelt on Jackie's back, but she didn't look like she was getting up again any time soon.

"One down, one to go," said Sonic happily. His eyes flicked up to the Princess, who, shaking, was propping herself up on her elbows. "You're welcome. But, thanks for that, by the way." He nodded at the mounted sniper, "Didn't see that there."

"Where… where did you come from?"

Sonic didn't bother answering. He patted down Jackie until he found what he was looking for. He exclaimed, "Aha!" when he revealed a set of fisticuffs from the weasel's belt. Bounty hunters sure could be useful. As he cuffed Jackie he said to Ki, "Should you be escaping, or something?"

Ki appeared to collect herself before answering, making a concerted effort to keep everything from her hands to her tail from shaking, "No. I saw the guards overwhelmed and have heard no gunfire. Pylon is free, he will assemble his police force, I must count on him. If the coup is already over then I had no chance of escaping the Pyramid Kingdom anyway. But the military have not yet appeared to crush this… resistance."

"So… you think something's up?"  
"Possibly… There are three stages to a coup, gathering intelligence and allies, removing the current heads of states and those in power and then justification. Whoever launched this one only went as far as stage two."  
"… Right." Sonic stood and surveyed the scene below. From what little he knew of Shamar combined with everything he knew of Ringo, he had another theory, but it didn't matter one way or the other right now. The courtyard was reduced to rubble. The humongous and ornamental glass window was completely shattered, but all infrastructure outside of the immediate zone had been barely touched.

"Well I've seen worse," shrugged Sonic. His gaze eventually fell on Ringo. The hulking figure crouched in pain, leaning on what remained of the fountain for support.

Ki looked at Ringo. "You know him?"

"Once. We spent time at the same school… not a normal one, mind."

"What was the value of this abnormal education?"

"Well… it was different for each of us. Amy learnt Piko art, Knuckle-head studied with the last of his kind, Tails did… engineering, or something."  
"And Ringo?" Ki looked at him darkly, "I don't even want to know what chemical cocktail he was on to get like that."

Sonic waved in dismissal, "Actually, that's what I was getting to. It's no cocktail. He was there before we were. Remember what I was going on about back in the truck, about the Alpha State?"

"No, Alpha State?"  
"It's a technique the monks up there were proficient at. Mind over matter stuff, controlling their brain to slow down their heart long enough to remain underwater for six hours, attain super-human reflexes, that kind of thing."  
Ki's eyes widened, tail flicking in shock, "You think that wolverine got like _that _just by thinking about it?"  
"Well it's not just 'thinking about' it. And yeah. Absolutely. Nobody gave him Magic Rings, there's no cocktail in the world that could get him like that, unless maybe he's had a run in with some shady GUN branch or something. But this was what he studied at Bu Xi Tai, and he was good, too. He's increased… muscle mass, bone structure, everything, to get like that. Don't ask me why though. I didn't think he survived the Robotnik war until today."

Sonic expected the usual, 'what on Mobius is a Magic Ring!', but Ki had other issues to concern herself with.

"That's another thing," murmured Ki, "the Robotnik robots. Is the Mad Doctor here?"

Sonic shrugged, "When Tails finally shows up I'm sure he'll tell us."

"Who?"

"My little brother. Sheesh, that reminds me – I better go check on Silver."  
As he turned, Sonic suddenly saw the danger reflected in Ki's wide blue eyes.

"Sonic, look" –

WHAM!

Sonic had no idea what had hit him until he was lying on the ground outside the courtyard. Something had thrown him straight off the roof. He had landed on the uneven brick hard, skidding several feet, but nothing appeared to be broken. Several metres away are large chunk of clay rubble, weighing easily over fifty kilometres, sat lodged in the next building.

Groaning, Sonic forced himself up. His side stung through the numbness. He could smell Magic Ring residue in the air. Straight ahead, Ringo was marching straight through the bordering corridor. With powerful waves of his tree-trunk arms he smashed through the supporting columns in a single motion.

"YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT RAGE IS."

He lumbered closer. Sonic could see not see any remains of his left eye, but his right was fixed on him with searing hatred.

Sonic dredged up some attitude from the surprise attack. As robustly as he could he rose to his feet. "Give it up, Ringo! Whatever scheme you and Robotnik had goin' on here is over!"

Sonic had the feeling he was wasting his breath. He stood, and quickly calculated his chances. If he was caught in close quarters he was done for – but he had got two hits previously without consequence. Ringo was too slow. Still, tiring him out would only work to his advantage.

"Fine, Ringo, you want it that way!" challenged Sonic. The wolverine was upon him, the whites of his eyes visible as he raised one enormous, hairy arm.  
"Let's dance!"

Sonic rolled straight back as Ringo's arm came crashing down, denting the bricks where Sonic had been. Sonic's momentum carried him straight back to the building behind him. He planted both feet on the vertical wall, absorbing all remaining energy in his knees, then lunged forwards once more. He kept his movement sharp and erratic, throwing Ringo off projecting his point of impact.

He blazed past Ringo, quills grazing across the humongous bare feet.

Emboldened by his success for far, Sonic widened the distance between them to twenty feet before shooting back like a rubber band. Zigzagging in, Sonic aimed for Ringo's chest now, hoping to ground him with the full force of a spindash.

But this time Ringo was ready.

Sonic had the chance to abort - that much he had to admit. But he gambled that his full acceleration would pack more power than Ringo's freak strength.

Ringo braced like a fielder. As Sonic leapt and like a bullet hurdled for his chest. Ringo absorbed the speed by launching himself backwards.

Sonic did not hear Ringo's roar of triumph as he was slapped forcefully into the ground.

He barely had time register the severity of his error, but somewhere in the back of his mind the irony of his mistake rang like a bell. He had caught Ringo out on blind rage, and Ringo had undone him on blind ego.

Brushing off the crash, Sonic scrambled away, but did not make it to a spindash before Ringo's hand smashed down on his legs.

Sonic yelled in pain as dread and disbelief filled his heart.

"No!" yelled Ki, stamping a fist on the parapet as the scene unfolded.

She could do nothing, had no weapon. She snarled in incredulity. The whole point of her risking her skin against Jackie for this boy was so he could deal with Ringo at least until help arrived - if there was any help to come. Pylon was free - why hadn't his police force yet arrived?

She watched helplessly as the brutish wolverine fixed Sonic in his fist, lifting him from the ground.

Even if her only reason to help this boy was to stop Ringo turning on her and marching her to the hall of Eternity and whatever he wanted there, Ki knew she had to act. But her urge to turn and run was becoming unbearable.

"Fine, find something in two seconds... or flee."

She promised herself this course of action, and then swung around, searching for a weapon, definitely hoping she would not find one and be allowed by her own conscience to leave.

She snorted angrily at what she saw.

Ringo's fist stank somewhere between off porridge and rotting meat. Between that and the immense heat radiating from his leathery skin Sonic felt sure he would pass out in seconds. Or, he almost hoped he would. He was almost entirely enclosed in the brutish hand pushing him into the cement. He struggled, sharp quills cutting into Ringo's palm, but it seemed the wolverine barely noticed.

Now entirely enclosed and trapped, Ringo lifted him. The pressure began to build. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't move. He would be crushed.

"_No no no!"_

A sickening crack. Sonic screamed as the world flashed red. Then he was flying through the air once more, broken and unable to mitigate his landing.

The fall was painful beyond measure. He had been tossed like he weighed nothing, which, to Ringo he supposed he did, back into the courtyard. He smashed through one pillar supporting the corridor and crashed ungainly into the debris-ridden courtyard. He barrel-rolled for at least ten metres before coming to a stop.

He coughed, and gasped for breath. The cool night air was freezing now in contrast to Ringo's body heat. He struggled to breathe. Spots of intense pain burned in his chest. Every piece of downward pressure he exerted to lift himself resulted in all of them flaring angrily. He had been crumpled like an aluminium can. He tried pushing and dragging himself to cover with his legs and arms, but there was nowhere to go.

He could at least flip himself to his back to observe his oncoming end. He was unable to hear anything else as Ringo thundered towards him. He had survived and been in the thick of the Robotnik War, the Black Arms invasion and Dark Gaia's Uprising, and yet here was about to be finished by none other than an old school rival.

Ringo was nearly upon him, a murderous look in his eyes that told Sonic he was not talking his way out of this one.

Ringo roared and raised both fists, then brought them down with abandon.

This time Sonic did flinch and looked away, waiting for the end.

He suddenly felt freezing, but no blow came. Ringo roared again, but this time in something close to shock. He opened his eyes.

"Silver!" he choked.

A cyan dome protected them, its energy flowing from Silver's outstretched palms. It lit up the courtyard with white-blue light. Silver stood directly in front of Sonic, buckled at the knees from Ringo's blow. Blood flowed from his nose and ears, but his eyes shone with determination, face locked in a twisted battle-snarl.

Unable to comprehend what must have appeared supernatural phenomenon, Ringo took several steps back, eyes wide with disbelief.

"Silver!" Sonic gasped, "That was really good timing."

Silver glanced back, bot otherwise paid little attention. Teeth bared, he fixed his attention back on Ringo.

He swept his arms back. Several chunks of rubble lit up, encased in light. Ringo's eyes darted to all of them.

"I have had enough!" shouted Silver, thrusting both hands forwards and with them a cloud of dust and the chunks of rubble he had selectively uplifted.

Ringo did not even react until the rocks smashed into him. Sonic's spirits lifted marginally with each impact

"I don't even know where I am!" exclaimed Silver, as if it were Ringo's fault. "I have been beaten, shot at, I had to hijack a _jet_, been in a place crash, on the run from the military, then kidnapped by _you_! I! Just! Want! To! Go! HOME!"  
He punctuated each word with enough chunk of rubble aimed right at Ringo's head, who staggered back with each strike.

Sonic's ears flicked as a familiar drone reached them. He looked skywards.

"Well it's about time!"

The red star-shaped plane spiralled down faster, closer. It dipped below the humungous dome of the building the hostages had been held in. Sonic would have flinched with worry for any other pilot, any other plane. If Tails had reached the centre of the city whilst airborne, that meant a good chance that Ringo's coup was over.

"Silver!" he called. The exertion made the searing pangs in his chest seethe pain. It felt like barbed wire snagged on each one. "We're home-free, get us out of here and let Tails deal with him!"  
Silver snarled, "I am _not _home."

He seemed to gather a wave of psychokinetic energy around him. Irregularly, tiny bolts of electricity coursed throughout. Meanwhile a cyan star, a small figure cloaked in light, descended from above. Tails had dove low to allow Nickel to disembark, intent on helping his brother. Sonic felt a surge of pride crest in his chest for the kid – he had come a long way.

Ringo lunged forwards just as Silver and his little brother from above launched two large waves of pure energy together at their foe. They sailed like canvasses of translucent light, electricity rushing within their thin, blanket-like composition.

A thunderclap, and suddenly Sonic was caught in a hurricane. He was flung back through blinding dust by some invisible force, boulders and carnage flying past him sometimes just inches from his face. Like the shockwave of an explosion everything rushed outwards from the epicentre.

The force disappeared as quickly as it had came. When Sonic realised that he in fact not been crushed by any of the rubble he opened his eyes.

He was half-buried in bricks and rock. He could see virtually nothing of the courtyard due to the thick dust the botched attack, or whatever it had been, of Silver's had lifted into the hair.

Again he tried lifting himself, and again his chest would not support any weight at all. He was grounded. He choked out a lungful of the dust, and searched for an ally.

He found the opposite.

"Oh, c'mon!" he exclaimed. Barely five metres away a huge unmistakable figure was throwing large boulders of collapsed clay off his body. Through the dirt Sonic could very clearly see Ringo's eyes, or remaining eye, staring straight at him. Raw skin still smoked on his shins where the robots had shot him.

A loud burst of sound and Ringo flinched as if bitten. Clawing at something on his back, his eye rolled into the back of his head. He took two ungainly steps towards Sonic before collapsing in a heap, a green dart sticking out from between his shoulder blades.

"O…K where did that come from?" Sonic asked aloud. He tensed and waited for a second dart to find him, but none came.

He heard Silver choking nearby.

"Silver! You okay, buddy!" Sonic called, propping himself up to lean against a collapsed pillar. The blast appeared to have toppled the boundary corridors.

"A rebound! Where's Nickel? NICKEL!"

Silver staggered towards him. He was covered with cuts and scrapes from the shockwave. His white fur was nearly grey from the debris. Blood, Sonic presumed from overuse of his psychokinesis, covered his mouth and neck, as well as on his wrist where he had attempted to wipe it. He clutched his head with one hand and clenched one eye shut. He took one look at Sonic and said, "What on Mobius happened to you?"

Sonic rocked his head left and right, squinting. He wheezed, "Ah, four, maybe more, busted ribs. Probably a pierced lung as well seeing as I can't breathe. So, you know… ok."

Silver barely reacted. Seemingly considering that it really wasn't his problem, he resumed calling, "_Nickel_!"

A loud mechanic drone grew in volume from above. Through the descending cloud came the _Tornado MKII_, stirring the dust and swirling it outwards. Tails switched all lights on to illuminate what he could of the destroyed courtyard. With the plane hovering above their heads, he opened the cockpit hatch and stretched out to look down at the scene.

"What happened to Ringo?" Tails cried.

"Thanks, buddy, I'm ok too," choked Sonic.

"The police are coming, Sonic! Pylon got them moving and he contacted me once he was free… but it looks like you took out all the robots and Ringo. Glad to see you made it!"

"Actually, a shooter took out Ringo," said Sonic, but he could no longer call loud enough for Tails to hear over the plane's whine. Sensing the danger had past, Tails lowered the plane for landing. Meanwhile, Nickel appeared from within the remainder of the dust cloud.

"Silver! What was _that_? Are you ok?" He, too, seemed to squint past what Sonic guessed was a crippling headache. His fingers massaged both his temples.  
"What do you mean what was that?" exclaimed Silver, somewhat angrily, "That was a rebound! Didn't you see me?"

"Ah… no. Um, sorry, bro."

"Just as well nobody got crushed."

Sonic said in little more than a rasp, "What's a rebound?"  
"It's what happens when two different kinetic fields collide. It's, well…" Silver took another exasperated look at the courtyard, "explosive." He looked again at Sonic. "But, seriously, what happened to you?"

Sonic gasped, "Weren't… you… watching?"

"No! I… I helped the hostages and Pylon… I," a look of empowerment blazed on his face, "I fended off that wolverines cronies! I-I stopped _bullets_!"

"Woo…" said Sonic weakly, feebly pumping his fists in a cheering motion, "He's the hero! Everybody…" he stopped to cough, "Silver's the hero!"

"Sonic!" called Tails, now sounding distant, "The military denounced the coup! The Ra is free! It's over!"

Sonic vaguely wished there had been a Chaos emerald somewhere in the mess that was Shamar. He also acknowledged that his earlier theory had been right.

"So it was," another coughing fit, "a proxy. Guys I should probably get to a hospital I can't breathe."

"What's a proxy?" asked Nickel, looking to Silver, who just shrugged in response.

"Garden variety politics with a conspiracy twist," rasped Sonic, "Really has nothing to do with us. Military probably funded this coup, made the Ra look bad, then will start hammering whoever runs this place sayin' that they can't govern."

It was convoluted but it also answered the paralysis of Pylon's police force. The military worked it like theatre: pay Ringo to terrorise the Pyramid Kingdom, subdue him in an apparent victory for the military, then blame the Ra for whatever they liked. People would believe anything if their personal security was at risk. It left one loose end though: where had they gotten Robotnik robots? Sonic had never heard of Robotnik sponsoring this kind of activity if it wasn't directly helping him: and Sonic doubted the military and Robotnik were going to share Shamar. So what here was so important Robotnik allowed his involvement?

Maybe there was something else in Shamar worth his interest. At least, if Robotnik wanted it, so did he.

Tails disembarked the _Tornado MKII_. A green tongue of fire remained burning from the plane's engine and all four nodes at the tips of the wings continued to burn.

"Oh, kinda like what we did to Aleena in East Spag," contemplated Tails.

"No! We didn't _ask _Robotnik to invade Fresk the day after she chucked us in jail!" said Sonic, sounding a little defensive.

"It doesn't matter," said Silver dismissively. He indicated Ringo, "What happened to him?"  
Sonic would have pointed out irritably that he had already told them and reprimanded everyone with his remaining breath for not keeping up, but the dust cloud was getting thicker. Within seconds he couldn't see the _Tornado MKII,_ then Nickel, then Silver.

With a mental sigh he let go of reality, letting his body shut down and allowing the Magic Rings to begin their healing.


End file.
